550 
N48r21 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


\ 


WEST    PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  CARMINE-STREET,  H.  Y. 


U,  V.  'Jt^ 


FAMILIAR   CONVERSATIONAL 
HISTORY 

Oi'  TIIE 

EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES 

OF 

NEW-YOKK. 


NEW-YORK  : 

R  O  U  I :  li  T    C  A  II  T  i:  K  , 
53  Caiiiil  street. 


1S;J9. 


• 


T 


.  i^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
1838,  by  tlie  Author,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  olthe  District 
Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


PRINTKD  BY 

W.  B.  &  T.  SMITH, 

»  3  PIVISION-ST. 


RECTOR  OF  ST.  IHOMAS'  CHURCH,  NEW-YORK, 

THE    HISTORIAN,  SCHOLAK,  AND  DIVINE  ; 

THIS  I.ITTI.E  VOLUME 

IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED, 
Br  ins  Hi;Mr>Li:  riut.fo, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


i/;;f'-s:: 


« •* ', 


CONTENTS. 


ISCIDK.NTAL  HiSTOIlY, 7 

The  Morals  of  our  City  Predecessors,    -        •  49 

Colonial  Slavery. — Negro  Plot,     -         -         -  70 

The  Priiniti\e  Indian  Inhabitants  of  our  Island,  79 

The  Church  in  tlic  Fort,         -         -         -         -  91 

The  Reformed  Dutch  Church,       -         -         -  98 

The  I'piscopal  Churcii,          ....  109 

The  French  Church, loO 

The  QuakerH, 1^3 

The  Lutheran  Churcli, M.'» 

The  Jews, VtCy 

The  Presjjyterian  T'liurch,      ....  ](;:} 

The  M()raviaii>(, l!S7 

The  Baptist.M, ]95 

The  MethodistM, 200 

The  Reformed  PreHl)yterian  ("hnn  li,     -        -  214 
Lijt  of  id!  tiie  r,'hurche.s  in  the  City,  aliihahcti- 

cally  arranged.         .....  'J17 


THE  HISTORY 


CHURCHES  OF  NEW-YORK, 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 


INCIDENTAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCHES, 
WHILE  THE  CITY  WAS  UNDER  FOREIGN 
GOVERNORS. 

[  Tlie  Interlocutors  are,  an  Uvci.k,  and  his  two  Nephews, 
IIe.vrv  a/irf  John.] 

Uncle.  Well,  Horiry,  did  you  imke  out  to 
gpt  a  view  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  church  to-day, 
or  was  the  appearance  of  things  in  Garden- 
street  so  altered  by  the  fire,  that  you  could  liardly 
find  your  way? 

Henry.  Oh  no,  sir;  wc  succeeded  in  finding 
the  object  of  our  search,  although  the  great  fire 
has  indeed  made  astonishing  chang(s  in  that 
part  of  the  city.  John  and  I,  after  having  gone 
around  the  whole  ruins  left  of  the  fiw,  and 
clambfrint;  over  one  continued  heap  of  rubbish, 
from  South  to  Broad  streets,  at  last  found  our- 
selves standing  before  the  bare  and  blackened 
walls,  of  what  so  lately  was  the  Garden  street 
I 


8  THE  cuuu  cn  i;s 

Church.  But,  uncle,  did  I  understand  you,  this 
morning,  to  say,  that  that  was  tlic  spot  where  the 
first  cluirch  ever  buiU  in  New-York  city  stood  ? 

John.  Perhaps  you  did,  Henry  ;  but  /  under- 
stood uncle  to  make  a  distinction  between  the 
first  churches  built  in  this  city.  If  I  recollect 
aright,  he  said  that  the  Garden-street  Church 
Avas  the  third  built  within  the  precincts  of  the 
city,  but  the  first  one  that  was  erected  by  the 
will  and  contributions  of  the  people,  indepen- 
dently of  the  government. 

Uncle.  You  are  right,  John ;  the  govern- 
ment, very  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the 
colony  here,  caused  a  chapel  for  divine  worship, 
to  be  built  within  the  walls  of  the  fort;  which 
you  may  note  down  as  the  j^rs^  church  in  New- 
York  ;  the  second  was  built  by  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant  on  his  farm,  or  "Bowery"  about  the 
year  16G0  ;  and,  then,  not  many  years  after  this, 
the  people  procured  a  license  to  build  a  church 
in  Giarden-strect,  which  you  see  v/as  the  third 
in  the  city. 

Henry.  But  was  it  called  Garden-street  along 
there  in  those  early  days  1 

Uncle.  No.  There  was  not  much  of  a  street 
there  then,  when  the  church  was  first  built ;  it 
was  merely  a  lane  on  which  the  church  stood, 
which  ran  up  back  of  the  parsonage-garden, 
where  the  minister  lived,  and  from  this  came 
the  name,  in  after  days,  of  6'a?vie??.-street. 

John.  But  you  are  not  done,  I  hope,  uncle? 


O  F    N  i;  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  y 

Have  you  nothing  more  to  tell  us  concerning- 
the  history  of  this  old  and  venerable  church  1  I 
should  like  to  hear  more  too  about  all  the  early 
Christian  churches  in  this  city;  but  perhaps 
your  time  may  be  too  precious,  and  can  be  more 
profitably  spent  in  other  waj's. 

Uncle.  Oh  no,  my  boys.  Nothing  can  give 
me  greater  pleasure,  than  to  hear  you  express 
the  wish  to  learn  something  concerning  the 
early  introduction  of  Christianity  and  its  institu- 
tions into  our  city :  and  it  will  be  a  source  of 
high  gratification  to  myself,  as  well  as  some 
improvement  to  you,  I  hope,  to  sit  down  and 
talk  over  with  you  the  early  history  of  our  city 
churclies.  And  I  am  glad  that  your  interest  in 
the  subject  has  led  you  to  mention  it ;  but  at  the 
same  time  that  I  make  known  to  you  my  sin- 
cere willingness  to  spend  some  portion  of  my 
time  so  profitably,  as  in  conversations  with  you 
upon  this  interesting  subject,  I  would  remind 
you,  beforehand,  that  it  will  require  consider- 
able patience,  and  will  pcriiaps  draw  upon  your 
fimd  of  self-denial,  to  sit  hour  after  hour,  and 
perform  what  some  people  would  call  tho 
drudgery  of  listening. 

Henri/.  It  will  bo  no  drudgery  to  us,  sir;  or 
at  all  events,  a  pleasanldrudgery.  Besides,  we 
recollect  to  hear  you  say,  sir,  that  nothing  im- 
portant or  u.geful,  especially  in  the  line  of  infor- 
mation or  knowli.dge,  can  be  obtained  without 
much  labour  and  study. 


10  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  You  are  right,  and  with  such  a  dis- 
position, tliere  is  but  little  doubt  that  you  will 
succeed  in  your  attempts  to  acquire  infoiination 
on  this  subject,  and  train  the  end  you  have  in 
view;  and  if  the  sanit;  spirit  follow  you  through 
life,  I  will  venture  to  predict,  that  you  will  find 
all  your  undertakings,  turning  out  to  your 
pleasure  and  benefit,  even  to  a  degree  far  beyond 
anything  you  could  anticipate.  But  as  to  the 
importance  of  the  study  upon  which  we  propose 
to  enter,  I  suppose  that  you  have  the  san)e 
thoughts  with  myself,  viz.,  that  it  is  great,  espe- 
cially to  the  young,  and  those  engaged  as 
scholars  in  Sabbath-schools,  who,  as  they  grow 
up,  should  become  acquainted  with,  and  be  able 
to  converse  intelligentlyabout  the  histories  of  the 
various  Christian  churches  in  the  city.  There 
is  undoubtedly  great  ignorance  on  this  point, 
which  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  young 
alone,  but  which  may  be  found  among  people 
of  all  classes,  both  young  and  old,  throughout 
the  city ;  which,  indeed,  is  not  so  much  to  be 
■wondered  at,  when  we  consider  that  the  great 
mass  of  inhabitants  that  form  the  yearly  increase 
to  our  population,  are  from  the  surrounding 
country,  or  other  cities  and  towns,  and  conse- 
quently cannot  be  expected  to  be  familiar  with 
the  history  of  churches  or  buildings,  which  they 
never  saw  or  heard  of  from  their  parents,  or 
other  ancestors.  I  committed  to  paper,  the  other 
day,  a  few  thoughts  on  this  subject,  which  you, 
Henry,  may  read. 


O  F    N  F,  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  11 

Henry.  "  The  remembrance  of  historical 
facts  in  relation  to  ecclesiastical  institutions  of 
our  city  is  almost  altogether  confined  to  a  few, 
comparatively,  of  our  citizens,  and  these  gene- 
rally far  advanced  in  age,  and  fast  hastening  on 
to  the  end  of  life's  journey,  who  have  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  them  by  their  own  experience, 
and  by  tradition  ;  or  else  the  events  are  recorded 
in  books  and  precious  manuscripts,  locked  up  in 
safely-treasurtd  libraries,  seldom  to  be  read  by 
those  wl)o  might  profit  by  the  perusal,  and 
much  less  bv  tlic  young,  who  are  thus  debarred 
from  such  important  knowledge  of  earlier  days. 
In  this  flourishing  London  of  the  West,  the 
spirit  of  enterprise  and  innovation,  utterly 
regardless  of  the  veneration  with  which  they 
used  to  be  looked  upon,  with  a  ruthless  hand, 
has  swept  away  all  traces  of  many  of  those 
venerable  buildings,  which  wore  once  the  pride 
and  honour  of  the  honest  and  worthy  colonists, 
who  esteemed  it  one  of  their  first  and  best  of 
privileges  to  worship  God,  the  God  of  their 
fathers,  in  church*  s  of  their  own  erection  and 
consecration.  Built  by  pious  hands,  and  by  the 
contributions  of  pious  souls,  and  set  apart  to 
pious  and  devout  pinposes,  they  have  been  pull- 
ed down  by  men,  ignorant  or  regardless  of  their 
history  and  design,  as  if  no  longer  needed  for 
use;  or  to  make  room  for  something  of  more 
modern  style'' 

Henry.  This  puts  mc  in  mind,  sir,  of  the 
1* 


12  THECHURCHES 

Chateaux,  in  France,  whose  antiquated  walls, 
built  in  feuLil  times,  are  now  demolished  to 
make  way  for  establishments  of  more  modern 
taste  and  finish.  But,  as  to  churches,  I  had 
always  supposed  that  age  added  to  their  sacred- 
ness  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  universally,  and 
secured  the  reverence  and  cherishing  care  of  all. 

U/icle.  This  is  true  with  regard  to  many,  but 
not  with  all.  There  are  many,  who  are  not 
only  actuated  by  a  simple  desire  of  change  and 
novelty,  but  by  a  deep  rooted  prejudice  against 
the  simplicity  of  former  times,  to  destroy  every 
vestige  of  what  they  scornfully  speak  of  as  days 
of  Puritanism.  But,  if  you  will  read  on,  you 
will  find  that  the  churches  of  New-York  have 
had  a  harder  enemy  than  the  hand  of  man  to 
deal  with — one  more  speedy  in  its  operations, 
if  not  more  destructive  in  its  eflects — I  mean 
the  raging  element  of  fire  ;  which  is  so  good  a 
servant,  but  so  cruel  and  terrible  a  master. 

Heurp.  "  Thus  many  of  the  churches  which 
stood  conspicuously  on  our  streets  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  built  before  and 
after  the  revolutionary  war,  have  disappeared. 
Nor  has  the  spirit  of  innovation  bfen  alone  and 
unassisted  in  this  work ;  the  raging  element 
fire,  as  if  possessed  by  a  determination  toflill  in 
with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  erase  every  ves- 
tige of  antiquity,  has  wrapped  in  its  terrific 
embrace  many  a  tall  and  beautiful  spire,  and 
left  many  a  fine  church  with  naught  but  naked 


OF    NEW-YORK.  13 

walls  to  mark  its  identity;  some  of  which,  for 
many  reasons,  have  no'ver  been  rebuilt,  and  the 
congregfations  have  located  in  other  parts  of  the 
wide-spreading'  city." 

Uncle.  Thus  you  see  what  agents  have  been 
mainly  instrumental  in  removing  from  our 
sight,  those  venerable  buildings,  which  the  early 
inhabitants  of  the  city  used  to  delight  to  gaze 
upon,  as  temples  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  the 
Most  High,  and  in  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  meet  week  after  week,  for  the  offeiing  up  of 
public  prayer  and  praise  to  the  true  and  living 
God.  But  to  preserve  in  your  minds  the  re- 
membrance of  the  church  buildings,  will  not  be 
my  only  desire  and  object  in  these  conversations 
with  you;  but  that  you  may  make  such  a 
record,  in  your  minds,  and  on  paper  if  you 
please,  of  the  f  stablishments  and  progress  of  the 
various  dt  nominations  of  Christians  in  our  city, 
from  its  first  Sf  ttlement  by  the  Dutch,  down  to 
the  present  time,  as  shall  form  an  interesting 
history  for  your  own  review;  and  if  committed 
to  writing  by  you,  might  be  made  a  useful  and 
important  present  to  some  Sabbath-school  li- 
brary. 

John.  The  proposition  of  committing  our  con- 
versations to  writing,  we  will  willingly  and  joy- 
fully accede  to,  uncle,  provided  that  you  give  us 
more  immediate  assistance  once  in  a  while, 
should  we  need  it.  But  to  make  our  proposed 
history  as  complete  as  wc  can,  will  it  not  be 


14  THKCHURCIIES 

necessary  for  you,  sir,  to  give  us  some  short 
account  of  the  discovery  and  first  settlement  of 
New- York  city? 

Uncle.  It  will.  And  I  will  give  you  the 
account  in  as  hw  words  as  possible;  and  there- 
fore begin  by  saying,  what  I  presume  you  both 
already  know,  that  the  first  discovery  of  the 
island,  on  which  the  great  city  of  New- York 
now  stands,  was  made  by  Henry  Hudson,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  year  1609.  He  was  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  but  was  then  in  the 
employ  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company. 
The  object  of  the  Dutch,  in  sending  out  Hudson, 
was  to  discover  some  more  direct  passage  to  the 
East  Indies,  than  by  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  in  order  to  facilitate  their  trade.  But,  by 
his  discoveries,  finding  that  trade  could  be  car- 
ried on  to  advantage  with  the  Indians  in 
America,  they  sent  out  other  ships;  and  in  1614, 
encouraged  a  company  of  merchants  in  Holland 
to  send  out  ships,  and  to  establish  trading-houses 
among  the  Indians,  and  licensed  them  under  the 
name  of  the  "  West  India  Company."  Accord- 
ingly, this  Company,  in  1615,  six  years  after 
the  discovery  by  Hudson,  erected  their  first 
fort  and  trading-house  on  the  island  where 
New-York  now  stands,  and  which  was  com- 
monly called  Manhallan,  as  the  Europeans 
pronounced  the  Indian  name. 

Their  object  appears  to  have  been  that  of  trade 
entirely ;  as  they  seemed  to  have  had  at  first  no 


OF    NEW-VORK.  15 

intention  of  makina^  permanent  settlements  and 
colonies  here,  as  the  English  did  at  l-*lymoLith 
and  Jamestown.  You  doubtless  recollect  the 
circumstances  and  causes  which  led  to  the  set- 
tlement of  these  first  English  colonies. 

Henry.  Yes,  sir.  Especially  that  of  Ply- 
mouth. We  know  that  it  was  for  the  sake  of 
religious  liberty,  that  the  Puritan  fathers  of  New 
England  forsook  the  homes  of  their  native  land, 
and  fled  to  the  wilds  of  America.  And  that 
causes  then  exi.^ted  in  England,  which  made  it 
necessary  for  them,  either  to  surrenJer  the 
privilege  of  worshippin.g  God  after  their  own 
manner,  and  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  conscience,  or  to  seek  a  home  in  some 
other  land  ;  they  chose  the  latter.  And  conse- 
quently they  fled  to  the  shores  of  America. 

Uncle.  You  are  right.  But  in  Holland  the 
state  of  things  was  difl'c^rent.  There  was  no 
necessity  there  to  flee  the  country,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  privilege  of  religious  freedom,  and 
therefore,  the  only  object  that  the  first  settlejs  in 
America  from  that  country  had  in  view,  was 
merely  that  of  trading  with  the  natives.  In 
return  for  b' ads  and  glittering  trinkets,  the  In- 
dians could  furnish  them  with  abundance  of  furs 
and  skins,  valuable  cargoes  of  which  were  con- 
tinually shipped  to  Holland ;  as  was  also 
tobacco  and  copper. 

John.  Tobacco!  uncle.  Did  the  Indians  use 
tobacco  ? 


16  TIIECHURCHES 

Uncle.  Yes!  Yon  must  know  that  our  coun- 
try is  the  birthplace  of  this  weed.  The  Indians; 
were  undoubtedly  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
the  tobacco-plant,  long  before  the  Europeans 
came  among  them,  and  smoking  was  an  Indian 
custom.  When  Hudson's  ship  first  appeared 
in  New-York  Bay,  or  perhaps  before  he  had 
entered  the  Narrows,  the  natives  came  ofi'  to 
him,  bringing  with  them  abundance  of  tobacco, 
and  red  copper  pipes,  which  they  used,  and 
which  they  offered  to  the  strangers  as  their 
best  gifts.  They  also  wore  copper  ornaments 
about  their  necks.  But  to  return  to  our  history, 
the  whole  possessions  of  the  Dutch,  which  they 
claimed  around  Manhattan  Island,  and  which 
extended  many  miles,  north,  south,  and  east, 
were  called  by  them.  New  Netherlands,  after  a 
part  of  their  country,  in  Europe.  In  the  year 
1623,  another  and  a  stronger  fort  was  built  on 
the  lower  end  of  Manhattan  Island,  and  called 
Fort  Amsterdam.  This  stood  on  a  high  mound, 
a  few  rods  below,  or  south-west  of  the  present 
Bowling  Green;  and  maybe  considered  as  the 
commencement  of  the  city,  which  took  the  same 
name  as  the  fort,  and  was  called  New  Amster- 
dam. From  this  time  forward,  we  must  look 
upon  the  settlement  as  a  regular  colony ;  at  first 
under  the  protection  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany, in  Holland,  who,  in  1625,  sent  out  Peter 
Minuit,  as  the  first  regular  commander. 


O  F    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  17 

CHAPTER  SECOND. 

INCIDENTAL  HISTORY — COXTIKUED. 

Uncle.  Peter  Minuit  was  commander  from 
1625  to  1629,  during  which  time  nothing  oc- 
curred which  would  especially  interest  us  in 
our  researches;  or  which  would  aid  us  in 
judging  of  his  moral  or  Christian  principles. 

Henri/.  But  he  built  no  church,  sir? 

Uncle.  No.  But  this  might  have  been 
owing  altogether  to  the  small  number  of  inhab- 
itants there,  who  could  more  easily  and  conve- 
niently assemble  for  divine  worship  in  some 
apartment  of  the  fort.  This  they  were  undoubt- 
edly in  the  habit  of  doing,  considering  that  most 
of  the  first  settlers  were  moral  and  Christian 
n:en,  who  had  known  and  appreciated  the  value 
of  Sabbath  and  sanctuary  privileges  in  their  na- 
tive country,  and  who  would  be  likely  to  hail 
with  joy  the  return  of  any  stated  period,  more 
especially  the  holy  Sabbath,  that  would  remind 
them  of  the  home  from  wliich  they  were  now 
so  far  removed.  There  was  no  occasion,  then, 
for  a  church  in  Governor  Minuit's  lime — so  in 
Van  Twiller's ;  but  it  remained  for  William 
Kieft,  who  arrived  here  as  Ctovernor  in  1638, 
to  have  the  honour  of  ci'LCliiig  ihcjirsl  church 


IS 


THE    CHURCHES 


for  the  public  worship  of  God,  ever  built  in 
New  Amsterdam;  or  otherwise  New-York. 

John.  We  will  remember  his  name,  and  note 
it  also  in  our  books.  But,  sir,  will  you  be  good 
enough  to  tell  us  where  this  first  church  stood? 

Uaclc.  I  think  that  I  have  mentioned  before 
to  you  the  chapel  of  the  fort.     This  was  the 
church   built  by  the  order  of  Governor  Kieft, 
and  it  stood  within  the  walls  of  fort  Amsterdam, 
and  was  afterwards  long  known  under  the  name 
of   King's   Chapel.     Of   its   history    we   will 
speak   more  particularly   hereafter.     But  from 
the  erection   of  this  chapel   we  may  date  the 
commencement  of  the  ecclesiastical  historv  of 
the  city  of  New-York.     From  that  lime  to'the 
present,  the  citizens  of  New-York  have  never 
been   without  the  possession  of  a  church;  and 
perhaps  no  one  Sabbath  has  passed  by  without 
the  performance  of  public  and  divine  worship, 
by  the  people  of  some  one  denomination   or 
other.     And  this  too,  you  will  perceive,  was  a 
Protestant  Church;  the  people  orthodox  in  the 
fiith  and  practice  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Holland,    and    the   congregation    worshipping- 
after  the  manner  of  their  Protestant  fathers  in 
Europe.     The  services,  then,  were  conducted 
in  the  Dutch  language  altogether,   which  con- 
tinued   to  be    used    m    the    Dutch    Reformed 
churches  in  the  city  down  to  the  year   1764, 
when  the  English   language  was   first    intro- 
duced by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laidlie,  then  pastor  of 


or    N  E  W-TOR  K.  19 

the  Middle  Dutch  Church.  Of  this  change 
you  will  hear  farther  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider more  particularlv  the  history  of  the  Dutch 
Church. 

Ht'/ir//.  We  should  like  to  hear  move  con- 
cerning the  native  Indians,  sir,  whom  the  Dutch 
found  here  when  they  first  arrived.  They 
have  all  disappeared,  and  like  the  first  churches 
of  the  settlers  that  you  mentioned,  no  vestige  of 
them  remains  to  tell  us  what  they  once  were, 
or  were  they  once  lived  and  flourished.  But 
you  have  access  to  some  history  of  them, 
we  presume,  and  we  would  beg  the  privilege 
of  gaining  more  information  concerning  this 
branch  of  the  almost  exterminated  race  of  the 
red  man. 

Uncle.  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  speak  so  feel- 
ingly of  the  red  men.  They  w^ere  noble  sons 
of  nature — an  extraordinary  race — notwith- 
standing they  were  called  "dogs"  by  the  w  bite 
man,  and  by  him  treated  with  brutish  cruelty. 
I  have  many  tilings  to  say  to  you  about  the 
aborigines  oi'  this  island,  the  Manhattans,  as 
they  were  coirmonly  called,  which  J  defer  for 
the  present,  with  the  promise  that  before  long 
we  will  devote  a  w'hole  conversation  exclu- 
sively to  this  interesting  subj(  ct. 

But  before  we  proceed  to  the  particular  his- 
tory of  the  churches  separately,  perhaps  it  will 
be  well  for  us  to  take  a  general  survey  of  the 
circumstances  relative  to  Christianity,   which 


20  THE    CHURCHES 

took  place  in  the  colonj'  under  the  different 
g-ovcrnors,  and  the  state  in  which  the  churches 
ihon  were.  To  do  this,  we  will  be  obliged  to 
introduce  more  or  less  of  the  secular  history  of 
the  coloiijr ;  which,  nevertheless,  may  be  inter- 
esting- to  you.  We  have  seen  that  Governor 
Kcift  had  the  honour  of  building  the  first 
church  in  New  Amsterdam,  in  the  year  1643. 
He  appears  to  have  been  quite  an  enterprising 
man,  and  encouraged  the  inhabitants  to  build 
houses  without  the  fort,  and  thus  to  extend  the 
city  ;  but  as  to  his  moral  and  religious  charac- 
ter, we  have  little  or  no  means  of  judging;  ex- 
cepting that  his  erecting  a  church  for  the  public 
worship  of  God,  argues  much  in  his  favour. 
But  the  last,  and  by  far  the  most  celebrated  of 
the  Dutch  governors,  was  Peter  Stuyvesant. 

Henry.  Oh!  yes,  sir,  we  remember  the  name 
of  the  brave  Pclrus  Stuyvesanl. 

Uncle..  His  name  is  indeed  worthy  of  remem- 
brance. He  began  his  administration  May 
27th,  1047,  and  governed  the  affairs  of  the  colo- 
ny until  September,  1664,  when  he  was  obliged 
to  surrender  his  power  to  the  English ;  who, 
headed  by  Colonel  Richard  Nicolls,  were  too 
strong  for  him.  But  he  was  nevertheless,  as 
you  say,  a  brave  man  and  a  good  soldier,  and 
w^as  unwilling  to  submit,  for  a  long  time.  But 
at  length,  compelled  by  the  entreaties  of  his 
own  subjects,  he  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  Eng- 
lish, and  signed  the  articles  of  capitulation  on 


O  F    N  £  "iA'  -  Y  O  U  K  .  21 

e  10th  of  September,  1664.  But  his  surron- 
ier  was  made  on  terms  very  honourable  to  him- 
self, and  extremely  favourable  to  the  inhabi- 
tants. These  articles  were  signed  at  his  farm, 
or  Bowery,  a?  the  Dutch  name  for  farm  was 
pronounced  by  the  citizens.  And  that  you 
may  see  that  the  governor  was  not  forgetful  of 
the  blessings  and  privileges  of  religious  free- 
dom, as  well  as  civil  and  personal  liberty,  I 
have  copied  off  one  or  two  of  those  articles  of 
capitulation,  which  you,  John,  may  read. 

John.  "All  people  shall  still  continue  free 
denizens,  and  shall  enjoy  their  lands,  houses, 
and  goods,  wheresoever  they  are,  within  this 
county,  and  dispose  of  them  as  they  please. 

"  The  Dutch  here,  shall  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
their  conscience  in  divine  worship,  and  church 
discipline. 

"  No  Dutchman  here,  or  Dutch  ship  liere, 
shall  upon  any  occasion  be  pressed  to  serve  in 
war  against  any  nation  whatsoever." 

Uncle.  You  see  how  strictly  they  guarded 
their  religious  freedom  ;  and  to  these  articles 
they  ever  after,  until  the  great  American  revo- 
lution, referred  as  the  great  charter  of  their 
liberties.  Colonel  Nicholls  was  now  governor, 
and  one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  change  the  name 
of  the  city  from  New  Amsterdam  to  that  of 
New- York,  in  honour  of  the  Duke  of  York, 
who  held  the  patent  right  of  the  province. 

John.  But  what  became  of  (iovcrnor  Stuy- 
vesant,  sir,  after  this  ? 


THE   C  H  u  n  c  n  E  s 


Uncle.  I  ^A^^s  just  about  to  tell  you,  thnt  after 
the  surrender  of  the  city,  he  retired  to  liis  coun- 
try seat,  01  Bowery,  until  the  next  year,  which 
was  16G5,  when  he  paid  a  visit  to  Holkind,  his 
old  home  and  native  country.  But  returning 
before  the  close  of  the  year,  he  again  retired  to 
his  Bowery,  and  there  enjoyed  his  estate  for 
manj'-  years.  At  his  death,  his  remains  were 
interred  in  a  small  chape),  which  he  had 
erected  upon  his  own  lands  and  which  stood 
near  where  the  St.  Mark's  Church  now  stands, 
in  Tenth-street,  and  where  the  tombstone, 
recording  his  name,  age,  dcaih,  &c.,  still  marks 
the  spot. 

John.  I  recollect  to  have  seen  his  tombstone 
there,  but  had  no  idea  of  there  being  a  church 
so  far  out  of  town,  in  his  day.  Was  this  the 
second  one,  sir? 

Uncle.  Yes.  His  chapel  must  have  been  the 
second  church  ever  built  on  Manhattan  Island; 
and  it  argues  much  in  his  favour,  that  he  was 
at  the  trouble  and  expense  of  building  a  church 
for  himself  and  his  family:  which  as  we  learn, 
comprised  a  large  number  of  domestics.  One 
Avord  about  his  character.  He  was  an  honour- 
able man,  a  good  soldier,  a  faithful  governor, 
and  a  firm  Protestant;  and  has  left  a  fame, 
which  his  posterity,  who  are  still  amongst  us, 
are  proud  to  own.  With  regard  to  his  per- 
sonal piety,  or  his  vital,  religion,  Ave  are  not 
able  to  know  much  at  this  late  day,  but  must 


OF    NEW- YORK.  23 

content  ourselves  with  hoping  for  the  best,  and 
judging  with  that  Christian  charit)',  which,  as 
the  apostle  Paul  declares,  never  faileth,  but 
"  hopethall  things." 

Henry.  I  should  like  to  know,  sir,  what 
clergymen  were  in  our  city  so  early  as  that, 
and  who  could  have  officiated  in  Governor 
Stuyvesant's  chapel  ? 

Uncle.  Concerning  the  latter  question,  I  may 
fail  to  satisfy  your  curiosity  entirely  ;  but  think 
myself  not  far  out  of  the  way  in  supposing  that 
the  clergymen  of  the  church  of  the  fort  might 
have  given  him  frequent  help,  especially  one  of 
the  most  active  of  them,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Megapo- 
lensis. 

John.  Megapolensis  !   what  a  singular  name? 

Uncle.  Yes,  it  is  a  singular  name  indeed  to 
us,  and  he  must  have  been  a  man  of  singular 
goodness  too.  But  of  this  you  will  learn  more 
hereafter,  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  Dutch 
Church,  and  its  ministers. 

Governor  Nicolls  was  a  sagacious  man,  and 
saw  the  propriety  of  allowing  the  inhabitants 
all  their  ancient  rights  and  privileges,  both  civil 
and  religious,  that  wore  not  incompatible  with 
their  relation  to  the  King  of  England.  And  he 
not  only  S''»w,  but  liad  the  good  sense  to  acknow- 
ledge the  loyally  of  tiic  Dutch  inhabitants,  and 
their  firm  attachm<nt  to  the  Protestant  religion. 
Consecjiiently,  in  mo.sl  of  his  public  acts,  he 
manifested  a  deference  and  respect  to  the  former 
2' 


21  Tllli.    CHURCH  K9 

habits  and  customs  of  the  colonists.  ReHgious 
liberty  to  worship  God,  after  the  dictates  of  their 
own  conscience,  was  what  they  valued  most 
highly,  and  in  this  he  was  equal  to  their  wishes. 
In  fact  this  was  one  of  the  conditions  ofstttlemcnt 
in  the  colony,  which  he  offertd  as  an  inducement 
to  new  planters  ;  which  one  of  you  may  read  to 
us,  as  published  16G4. 

John.  "  In  all  territories  of  his  Royal  Hi(jh- 
ness,  liberty  of  conscience  is  allowed;  provided 
such  liberty  is  not  converted  to  licentiousness,  or 
the  disturbance  of  others  in  the  exercise  of  the 
Prot(  stant  religion." 

Uncle.  Neither  did  Governor  Nicolls  forget 
that  the  people  must  have  ministers ;  and  to 
avoid  all  difficulties  respecting  the  collections 
for  their  support,  vve  find  him  making  the  fol- 
lowing regulation,  which  we  may  denominate 
a  prudent  one,  considering  the  stale  of  the  times 
then.  It  ran  in  these  words; — "  Every  township 
is  obliged  to  pay  their  minister,  according  to 
such  agreement  as  they  shall  make  with  him, 
and  no  man  to  refuse  his  proportion  ;  the  minis- 
ter being  elected  by  the  major  part  of  the  house- 
holders, inhabitants  of  the  town." 

Henri/  But,  uncle,  as  Governor  Nicolls  was 
an  Englishman,  I  suppose  he  meant  this  to  apply 
to  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church  of 
England,  did  he  not  ? 

Uncle.  No.  The  people  could  choose  a  min- 
ister of  what  denomination  they  pleased.     The 


OF    NEW- YORK.  25 

connection  of  Church  and  State,  recognized  in 
tlie  British  Constitution,  was  considered  as  con- 
fined to  England  proper,  and  not  extending  to 
the  American  colonies,  although  some  of  the 
governors  made  some  attempts  to  enforce  it  here. 
Not  so  with  Governor  Nicolls.  In  1665  we 
find  him  authorizing  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
to  raise  "  1,200  guilders"  for  the  support  of  the 
Dutch  ministers  in  the  city.  But  the  law  of 
license  was  strictly  adhered  to  by  him.  No 
clerjryman  could  perform  a  marriage  ceremony 
without  a  license  from  the  Governor,  or  his 
Council.  Even  schoolmasters  could  not  teach 
without  a  license.  And  there  is  a  record  of  the 
sexton's  of  the  Dutch  church  at  Albany,  apply- 
ing to  the  Governor  and  Council,  for  the  permis- 
sion to  bury  "Lutherans  and  all"  in  his  burying 
ground;  which,  of  course  was  granted.  About 
this  lime  also,  a  Lutheran  clergyman,  by  the 
name  of  Fabricius,  bi.-ing  accused  of  disturbing 
the  peace  by  preacliin?  liispfculiar  sentiments, 
was  in  consequence  publicly  reprimanded  by 
the  governor.  I  only  mention  such  things,  as 
matters  of  fact,  to  show  you  how  great  a  change 
time  has  wrought  in  the  state  of  things  since 
then. 

John.  As  grrat  a  cliange  in  the  feelings  and 
habits  of  the  peopln,  I  should  thinU,  sir,  as  there 
has  been  in  the  old  buildings  which  you  spoke  of 

Uficlii.  You  are  right.  But  of  the  two,  I 
think  1  should  have  much  preferred  encroach- 


Q6  Til  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 

ments  upon  tlic  former  than  upon  the  latter ; 
for  we  enjoy  a  fuller  blaze  of  Christian  light 
than  they  did,  and  conse(|uont]y  are  able  to 
carry  out  to  greater  perfection  the  doctrine,  espe- 
cially, of  freedom  of  conscience,  and  of  human 
and  individual  rights.  But  to  return  ;  days  of 
public  flisting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  were  of 
quite  frequent  occurrence  under  almost  all  the 
governors.  On  particular  occasions  the  gov- 
ernor would  issue  his  procla7natio7i,  which  was 
ever  met  by  the  acquiescence  of  the  people ;  and 
which  thej^  always  manifested  by  closing  their 
stores,  stopping  all  business  for  the  day,  and 
attending  in  a  body  upon  the  public  worship  of 
God.  We  find  frequent  mention  of  such  occa- 
sions in  the  records  of  the  city  ;  and  they  never 
failed  to  be  devoutly  observed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants. The  Christian  virtue  of  charity,  too,  was 
always  prominent,  and  flourishing,  among  the 
colonists.  Almshouses  were  erected  in  the  city 
very  early,  and  the  poor  were  so  humanely 
taken  care  of,  that  there  were  few  or  no  beggars 
to  be  found  here.  This  was  often  spoken  of  by 
strangers.  There  were  many  different  sects 
and  denominations  of  Christians  as  early  as  the 
year  174U;  but  few  of  them  supported  regular 
ministers.  The  Reformed  Dutch  or  Indepen- 
dents, as  they  were  called,  and  the  Presbyte- 
rians, were  considered  the  richest,  and  were  the 
most  numerous.  1'he  governors,  for  the  most 
part,  favoured  the  Episcopal  form  of  worship, 
but  this  was  not  the  case  with  all  exclusively. 


OF    Nrw-YORK.  27 

CHAPTER  THIRD. 

INCIDENTAL    HISTORY CONTINUED. 

John.  Were  all  the  governors  Protestants, 
uncle? 

Uncle,  yps.  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  they 
were.  Sir  Thomus  Donoran,  however,  who 
succeeded  Sir  Edmund  Andios?  as  governor, 
was  a  professed  Papist,  though  he  was  a  man 
of  such  integrity  and  moderation,  that  he  has 
always  been  classed  among  the  best  of  govern- 
ors. He  was  the  first  governor  that  sulTered 
the  people  to  have  a  "General  Assembly"  in 
the  province;  to  which  they  mii^^hl  send  repre- 
sentatives of  their  own  election,  who  could  have 
a  voice  in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  govern- 
ment. In  the  same  year  of  his  arrival  here, 
the  assembly  of  repiesentatives  wiiich  he  had 
allowed  to  the  peoplr>,  and  which,  together  with 
himself,  constituted  the  government,  passed  an 
act  concerning  marriages,  as  follows:  which 
may  not  bo  uninterej^ting  to  you,  as  showing 
what  once  obtained  here  as  the  law  of  the  land, 
though  it  has  long  since  been  abrogated. 
"Banns  of  marriicfes  to  be  published  in  the 
church,  on  the  Lord's  day;  or  when  there  is 
no  church,  they  are  to  be  advertised  on  the  door 


28  T  H  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 

of  the  house  of  the  constable  of  the  town,  where 
the  parties  reside  ;  or  else  a  license  to  be  pro- 
cured from  the  jjovcrnor." 

Unlike  his  popish  master  across  the  waters, 
King- James  11.,  Governor  Dongan  appears  to 
have  been  as  little  biofoted  in  reliofionas  he  was 
tyrannical  in  politics.  In  the  same  year  men- 
tioned above,  he  seems  to  have  acquiesced  cor- 
dially in  another  act  of  the  Assembly,  relating 
to  the  institutions  of  Christianity,  a  part  of  which 
runs  as  follows:  "All  persons  professing  faith 
in  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  have  free  and  full 
liberty,  unmolested,  to  exercise  the  mode  of 
worship  agreeable  to  them,  provided  they  do 
not  disturb  the  good  elsewhere."  This  shows 
him  either  to  have  been  no  bigot  in  his  own  re- 
ligion, or  that  no  opportunity  for  the  avowal  of 
his  real  principles,  was  given  him,  by  the  con- 
stancy of  the  people  in  thoir's.  From  his  re- 
fusing to  obey  the  command  of  his  popish  mon- 
arch, for  the  encouragement  of  the  French 
Jesuits  among  the  Indians,  as  well  as  from  his 
uniform  conduct  during  his  continuance  in  the 
province,  charity  and  the  love  of  truth  would 
lead  us  to  avow  the  former  opinion. 

Henry.  I  suppose  there  must  have  been  some 
Roman  Catholics  in  the  colony  at  this  time, 
sir. 

Uncle.  Yes;  their  first  settlement  here,  how- 
ever, was  made  while  Sir  Thomas  Dongan  was 
Governor  of  the  Province.  James  II.,  then  King 


OF    N  EM' -YORK.  29 

of  England,  whom  j^ou  have  already  seen  was 
a  Papist,  and  whom  some  historians  have  called 
the  "  Priest-vidden  Prince,"  naturally  enoug-h 
encouraged  settlers  of  his  own  faith  and  per- 
suasion. At  this  time  too,  many  of  the  king's 
servants  in  the  colony  openly  acknowledged 
themselves  to  be  Papists:  which  gave  great  and 
serious  alarm  to  the  old  inhabitants,  who  were 
particularly  averse  to  anything  like  an  approxi- 
mation to  Popery,  and  enthusiastically  attached 
to  Protestantism.  The  collector  of  the  revenues 
and  several  of  the  principal  officers  were  among 
the  number  that  openly  avouched  the  religious 
tenets  of  the  king;  and  a  teacher  in  a  newly- 
established  Latin  school  beingstrongly  suspected 
of  Jesuitism,  the  apprehensions  of  the  people 
were  very  much  increased.  By  these  and 
many  other  circumstances,  a  general  dissatisfac- 
tion arose  among  the  people,  which  carried  them 
to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement.  And  daily  ex- 
pecting to  hear  of  the  accession  of  a  new  Pro- 
testant sovereign  to  the  throne  of  England,  some 
of  them,  led  on  by  a  man  named  Leisler,  forcibly 
wrested  the  government  from  the  hands  of  the 
Lieut.  Governor,  whom  Sir  Thomas  Dongan 
had  loft  in  charge  In  L'-isler's  public  declara- 
tion to  the  people  of  his  intentions,  and  the  rea- 
sons of  his  apparent  revolt,  he  says  that  what  he 
did  was  for  "the  protection  and  preservation  of 
the  Protestant  religion." 

John.     He  must  have  been  a  zealuus  Protes- 
tant, as  well  as  a  firm  patriot ;  was  he  not,  uncle? 


30  T  II  E    C  II  U  R  C  H  E  S 

Uncle.  That  he  was  zealous  in  both  of  these 
charactprs,  there  can  be  no  doubt;  but  it  might 
have  been  belter  for  himself,  as  well  as  for  the 
cause  which  be  so  openly  espoused,  had  he 
moderated  his  zeal  a  little,  and  delayed  his  opera- 
tions for  a  few  days  at  least;  for  he  had  no 
sooner  dispossessed  the  Lieut.  Governor  of  his 
authority,  than  the  important  news  arrived,  that 
"  VV'iUiam  and  iVIary "  were  actually  on  the 
throne,  as  Protestant  sovereigns.  This  change, 
while  it  ultimately  proved  the  ruin  of  Leisler, 
totally  delivered  the  inhabitants  fiom  all  their 
fear  of  Popery,  and  frightful  apprehensions  of 
Romish  influence  in  the  colony.  And  when  the 
new  sovereigns  were  officially  proclaimed,  and 
publicly  acknowledged  by  the  colonists,  a  "  pub- 
lic and  solemn  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God" 
was  made:  and  a  day  set  apart  for  the  purpose 
by  the  people.  An  ordinance  made  and  pro- 
claimed in  the  Province,  about  this  time,  may 
give  you  some  idea  of  the  estimation  in  which 
our  forefathers  here  held  the  Christian  institution 
of  the  Sabbath.  It  bears  date  of  the  year  1G83, 
and  is  in  these  words,  as  found  in  the  records  of 
the  city,  which  you,  Henry,  may  read  to  us. 

Henry.  "  Ordered,  that  no  youths,  maydes, 
or  other  persons  may  meet  together  on  the  Lord's 
day,  for  sport  or  play,  under  a  h'ne  of  one  shil- 
ling for  each  ofllnce;  and  that  no  public  houses 
may  keep  open,  or  give  entertainment  on  that 
da3%  except  to  strangers,  under  a  fine  often  shil- 
lings." 


OF    XEW-VORK.  31 

Uncle.  There  was  a  similar  law  passed  a 
few  years  previous  to  this,  in  1670,  while  Col. 
Francis  Lovelace  was  governor,  by  which  a 
fine  of  "twenty  guilders''  was  imposed  for  each 
offence  of  Sabbath  breaking.  It  is  from  such 
evidences  as  these,  which  we  find  scattered  up 
and  down  on  the  pages  of  their  records,  that  we 
judge  of  the  Christian  character  of  our  Dutch 
progenitors,  and  early  predecessors  in  the  city, 
who  lived  so  near  the  times  of  the  Reformation 
as  to  have  partaken  much  of  its  spirit ;  and  who 
seem  to  have  appreciated  in  some  degree, at  least, 
the  truth  of  that  inspired  sentiment,  that  righte- 
ousness alone  e.xalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  re- 
proach to  any  people. 

But  to  return  to  our  history.  With  the  acces- 
sion of  new  monarchsto  the  throne  of  England, 
the  peoplf  had  all  their  grounds  for  the  fear  of 
papal  influence  removtd.  But,  as  you  will 
see,  they  could  not  congratulate  themselves 
much  upon  the  change,  in  the  colony,  when 
they  found  themselves  under  the  dominion  of 
Col.  Bpnjamin  Fhtcher,  who  arrived  here  as 
Governor  in   KiO'-i. 

John.  Why;  was  he  not  a  good  Protestant, 
sir  ? 

Vnde.  O  yes,  he  was  a  Protestant,  good  and 
true,  as  far  as  this  part  of  his  creed  went;  but 
all  his  actions  were  influmctd  by,and  tinctured 
with  his  excessive  bigotry  in  favour  of  the  es- 
tablished Church  of  England.     At  first  he  po»- 


d^  THE    CHURCHES 

sessed  a  good  share  of  popularity,  but  this  ex- 
treme devotedness  to  the  Episcopal  form  of  wor- 
ship and  church  government,  exhibiting  itself 
on  every  occasion,  finally  rendered  him  so 
odious  that  he  became  quite  intolerable  to  the 
old  inhabitants.  As  the  Dutch  inhabitants 
formed  the  great  majority  in  the  province,  al- 
most all  the  governors  had  practised  the  en- 
couraging of  English  preachers  and  school- 
masters in  the  colony,  as  good  policy.  Among 
the  foremost  in  this  project  was  Governor 
Fletcher.  We  find  him,  accordingly,  on  his 
first  arrival,  recommending  this  matter  to  the 
assembly;  who,  from  their  firm  attachment  to 
the  Dutch  language,  and  their  devotedness  to 
the  forms  of  the  Church  of  Holland,  the  prac- 
tice of  which  you  will  remember,  was  secured 
to  them  by  one  of  the  articles  of  the  surrender 
in  1664,  were  extremely  averse  to  his  proposals. 
This  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  House  of 
Assembly,  called  forth  a  warm  rebuke  from  the 
Governor,  in  his  speech  at  the  close  of  the  ses- 
sion ;  which  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  and 
Avhich  John,  for  our  information,  may  read. 

John.  "  Gentlemen  :  the  first  thing  that  I  re- 
commended to  you  at  our  last  meeting,  was  to 
provide  for  a  ministry,  and  nothing  is  done  in 
it.  There  are  none  of  you  but  what  are  big 
with  the  privileges  of  Englishmen  and  Magna 
Charta,  which  is  your  right;  and  the  same  law 
doth  provide  for  the  religion  of  the  Church  of 


OF    NEW- YORK.  33 

England,  against  Sabbath -breaking  and  all  other 
profanity ;  but  as  you  have  postponed  the  sub- 
ject this  session,  I  hope  you  will  begin  with  it 
the  next  meeting,  and  do  somewhat  towards  it 
effectually." 

Uncle.  As  might  be  expected,  the  old  inhabit- 
ants were  not  very  prompt  in  complying  with 
all  his  requisitions  in  regard  to  ecclesiastical  af- 
fairs. He  wished  to  establish  a  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  colony  by  law,  and 
to  make  an  annual  tax  upon  the  people  for  its 
support. — This  would  have  been  introducing 
what,  Henry? 

Henry.  Something  like  the  church  system  in 
England,  I  suppose.  Sir, 

Uncle.  Yes ;  it  would  undoubtedly  have  led 
to  that  ultimately,  had  the  Governor  been  al- 
lowed to  have  his  own  way  in  the  matter.  And 
to  anything  that  savoured  of  such  an  end,  the 
people,  of  course,  were  very  bitterly  opposed. 
They  were  sincere  lovers  of  the  Dutch  Church; 
and  remembered,  too,  the  right  that  was  con- 
ceded to  them  at  the  time  of  the  surrender,  to 
worship  Gofl  in  thnir  own  way,  and  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences.  But 
the  sectarian  zeal  of  the  Governor  was  not  to 
be  abated  by  any  opposition.  Accordingly  we 
find  him,  at  the  nr-xt  mrfting  of  the  Assembly, 
addressing  ihr-m  in  the  following  words  :  "  I  re- 
commondcd  to  the  former  Assembly  the  settling 
of  an  able  ministry,  that  the  wor.ship  of  (Jod 


64  TIIECHURCHES 

may  be  observed  among-  us,  for  1  find  that  great 
and  first  duty  very  much  neglected.  Let  us  not 
forget  that  there  is  a  God  who  made  us,  and  who 
will  protect  us  if  we  serve  him.  This  has  been 
always  the  first  thing  I  have  recommended  to 
you,  yet  the  last  in  your  consideration.  1  hope 
you  are  all  satisfied  of  the  great  necessity  and 
duty  that  lies  upon  you  to  do  this,  as  you  expect 
His  blessing  upon  your  labours." 

Henry.  Certainly,  he  must  have  been  a  good 
man,  sir. 

Unr.Ie.  I  am  pleased  to  see  you  so  willing  to 
extend  the  hand  of  Christian  charity  to  your 
neighbour.  But  you  will  have  to  learn,  my 
boy,  as  you  journey  on  through  the  world,  this 
important  lesson,  that  there  is  a  great  and  radical 
difference,  in  the  conduct  of  men,  between  pre- 
cept and  practice ;  much  more  between  true 
pii^ty  and  the  semblance  of  it.  The  words  of 
this  bigoted  sectarist  were  fair  and  good,  but 
we  are  constrained  to  say,  that  he  exhibited  no 
corresponding  actions.  He  cast  severe  reflec- 
tions upon  the  existing  and  prevailing  mode  of 
worship  among  the  people,  and  Avished  to  es- 
tablish an  "  able  ministry  ;"  by  which  you  must 
understand,  a  ministry  of  the  Church  of  JEngland. 
And  what  was  more  material,  he  wished  to  have 
the  power  of  settling  clergymen  over  theseveral 
churches  left  with  himself  alone.  Both  of 
which  requisitions  the  Assembly  of  course  re- 
fused to  grant ;  yet,  nevertheless,  finally  passed 


OF    NEW-YORK.  35 

an  act  to  establish  a  permanent  and  regular 
ministry  in  the  colony,  not  to  be  of  any  particu- 
lar or  favourite  denomination,  and  to  provide  for 
its  support. 

John.  Then  one  of  Governor  Fletcher's 
crimes  was  that  of  beinof  an  ardent  supporter  of 
the  Church  of  England  in  the  colony? 

Uncle.  Not  at  all,  John.  By  a  mistake  on 
this  point,  you  would  do  as  much  injury  to  the 
one  party  as  you  imagine  to  be  sufTered  by  the 
other.  His  ardency  as  an  Episcopalian  would 
not  have  been  at  all  obnoxious  to  the  people, 
had  it  not  merged  into  bigotry.  Had  he  come 
to  them  in  the  kind  conciliatory  spirit  of  the 
gospel,  that  spirit  of  Christian  charity,  forbear- 
ance, and  brotherly  love,  which  they  were  so 
willing  at  first  to  exercise  towards  him,  no  rup- 
ture would  have  been  experienced  between 
them.  But  as  it  was,  an  hierarchy  was  his  sole 
object.  And  he  was  violently  enraged,  when 
he  found  that  the  power  of  inducting  any  in- 
cumbent he  pleased  into  the  parochial  duties, 
was  not  granted  to  him  hy  the  Assembly;  and 
declared  to  them  that  he  had  power  from  the 
King  and  Uueen  to  depose  or  suspend  any  mi- 
nister he  pleased;  that  whil.st  he  staid  in  the 
government,  he  should  lake  care  that  neither 
heresy,  sedition,  schism,  or  rrbfllion  be  preach- 
ed, nor  vice  or  profimity  encouraged  ;  and  that 
he  should  endeavour  to  lead  a,  virtuous  and 
3» 


36  THE    CHURCHES 

pious  life  amongst  them,  and  to  give  them  a 
good  example.  His  boastings  with  regard  to 
his  own  private  character  would  have  been 
passed  by  entirely,  or  lightly  answered  by  the 
people,  had  they  been  but  true.  But  when 
they  saw,  and  experienced  too,  the  violence  of 
his  temper,  the  extreme  rudeness  of  his  manner 
towards  themselves,  and  his  excessive  avarice, 
and  eagerness  for  acquiring  wealth,  with  all 
possible  extension  of  their  Christian  charity, 
they  could  not  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  his 
apparent  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  religion,  was 
nothing  more  than  a  bigoted  partiality  to  the 
English  Church,  aided  by  a  strong  desire  to 
increase  his  own  personal  wealth,  by  the  exten- 
sion of  his  individual  influence.  The  worst 
feature  in  his  hierarchical  proceedings,  was  his 
direct  intention  to  introduce,  by  his  own  exam- 
ple, the  papal  custom  o[  selling  benefices,  as 
practised  in  England  and  elsewhere. 

Henri).  But,  sir,  did  not  the  Assembly  vir- 
tually side  with  him,  by  passing  their  act  for 
the  support  of  a  permanent  ministry? 

Uncle.  Not  at  all.  This  act  by  no  means 
favoured  the  Episcopal  church  exclusively. 
This  was  an  error  into  which  many  others  be- 
sides the  Governor  fell.  And  to  refute  this 
opinion  of  exclusive  right  being  granted  to  one 
church,  which,  indeed,  prevailed  pretty  general- 
ly at  first  among  the  people,  a  petition  upon  the 
subject  was  sent  from  five  of  the  church-wardena 


OF    NEW-YORK.  37 

and  vestrymen  of  the  city,  to  the  Assembly, 
which  mf-t  in  April,  1695,  praying  to  have  the 
decision  of  the  Aosembly  on  the  point  in  dis- 
pute, which  was  finally  given  in  the  following 
words,  which  John  may  read;  by  which  we 
shall  see,  as  I  tolJ  you  before,  that  the  Assem- 
blymen, unlike  their  Governor,  were  not  in- 
fluenced by  sectarianism. 

John.  "  Ordered,  that  the  vestrymen  have 
power  to  call  a  dhsenting  Protestaat  minister  ; 
and  that  he  is  to  be  paid  and  maintained  as  the 
law  directs."  Bui  Governor  Fletcher's  zeal 
was  the  means  of  some  good,  was  it  not,  sir? 

Uncle.  Yes,  there  you  are  right,  John.  We 
will  not  withhold  from  him  his  due  on  this 
point.  His  exertions  occasioned  the  building 
of  lhe_^As/  Episcopal  church  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  This,  you  will  doubtless  remember, 
was  what  we  now  call  the  Trinity  Church, 
built  in  1600,  on  the  same  site  which  it  now 
occupies,  at  the  head  of  Wall-street,  in  Broad- 
way ;  and  whose  lofty  spire  has  stood  for  so 
many  years,  towering  to  the  skies.  But  its  par- 
ticular history  we  will  consider  hereafter. 


38  THE    CHURCHES 

CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

INCIDENTAL  HISTORY CONTINUED. 

John.  But  the  people  were  not  long  harassed 
by  the  presence  of  their  tyrannical  governor,  I 
hope,  sir. 

Uncle.  No.  Governor  Fletcher  remained, 
to  oppress  them,  only  two  or  three  years  after 
his  violent  attack  upon  their  religious  liberties. 
In  1695,  they  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him 
bid  a  final  adieu  to  the  post  of  honour  which 
he  had  held  in  the  colony,  and  of  welcoming  in 
his  stead,  Richard,  earl  of  Bellamont,  who  ar- 
rived in  1697.  'i  he  name  of  this  governor  I 
mention  to  you,  only  on  account  of  a  memora- 
ble law  passed  by  the  Assembly  during  his  ad- 
ministration ;  and  one  at  which  you  would 
doubtless  be  unable  to  conceal  your  unmingled 
astonishment,  w^ere  you  to  remain  ignorant  of 
the  circumstances  which  led  to  its  passage.  It 
Avas  a  law  with  no  less  an  import  than  the  hang- 
ing of  everypopish  priest  that  came  volnnlarUy 
into  the  colony.  I  wish  you  to  note  the  date  of 
its  passage,  which  was  the  year  1700. 

Henry.  We  will  remember  it,  sir,  it  was  just 
one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  ago,  I  think. 
But  it  is  quite  startling  to  me,  who  never  dream- 
ed of  such  a  law  before. 


O  F    N  E  W  -  Y  O  R  K  .  39 

Uncle.  Such  a  law,  made  by  the  highest  au- 
thority of  the  land,  would  be  astounding  indeed 
to  us,  who  live  in  a  day  when  the  turrets  and 
spires  of  Roman  Catholic  chapels  and  cathe- 
drals are  seen  on  every  side,  mingled  with 
those  of  Protestant  churches  of  every  denomi- 
nation ;  and  who  are  daily  accustomed  to  see 
Papist  and  Protestant,  irrespectively  of  creed, 
associated  in  the  common  business  and  walks 
of  life,  and  living  happily  together,  under  the 
same  flag,  as  the  ensign  of  their  political  union. 
But  all  this  wonder  is  removed  when  we  carry 
back  our  researches  to  the  time  of  its  enact- 
ment, and  examine  the  circumstances  of  the 
colony,  which  called  for  such,  apparently  so 
harsh,  a  legislation.  You  must  picture  to  your- 
eelvcs,  boys,  the  existence,  in  this  then  western 
wilderness,  of  two  great  rival  powers,  the  French 
and  the  English,  ever,  and  violently,  contend- 
ing for  the  supremacy.  I'lic  former  possessing 
a  strong  foothold  in  the  north,  or  the  Canadas, 
and  the  latter  planting  her  colonies  all  over  the 
more  southern  portions  of  the  country,  now 
known  as  the  New  England  anrl  Middle  states. 
You  must  also  kf^p  in  your  memory,  the  exist- 
ence of  large  and  powerful  tribes  of  tractable, 
yet  ferocious  Indian.?,  on  the  borders  of  these 
provinces,  who  were  e.xtrem'dy  susceptible  oi 
European  influence  to  bias  them  one  way  or 
the  other ;  and  in  whose  power  lay  the  ques- 
tion of  the  existence  and  perpetuity  of  those  set- 


40 


THE    C  II  U  R  C  II  E  S 


tlemonts  that  had  gone  out  as  pioneers  into  the 
"wilderness — which  could  be  exterminated  at  a 
blow  by  those  red  sons  of  the  forest — savages 
Avho  could  prove  such  good  and  faithful  allies, 
but  such  terrible  and  insatiable  enemies. — You 
must  then  cast  your  glance  up  to  the  northern 
portions  of  the  province  of  New- York,  and  the 
borders  of  Canada,  and  see  those  hordes  of 
popish  priests,  and  Jesuitical  emissaries  of  the 
po])e,  sent  by  the  French,  wending  their  way 
through  the  trackless  forest  to  the  wigwams  of 
the  unsuspecting  Indians,  and  laden  with  a  sup- 
ply of  "  fire-water"  for  their  introductory  epis- 
tle, and  with  an  abundance  of  arms  and  ammu- 
nition, as  vouchers  of  their  sincerity,  engaging 
them  to  carry  their  hostile  expeditions  south, 
and  to  take  up  the  tomahawk  and  scalping 
knife  against  the  English  settlers  wherever 
they  could  be  foimd  unprotected  ;  encouraging 
them  to  break  up  English  settlements,  sparing 
neither  age  nor  sex  among  their  victims,  but 
burning  their  houses  with  fire,  and  involv- 
ing them  in  one  general  overwhelming  ruin. 
All  this  you  must  consider,  and  the  wonder 
vanishes.      Is  it  not  so  1 

Henry.  It  is,  uncle.  But  then  you  would 
have  us  consider  this  as  a  political,  rather  than 
a  religious  movement,  on  the  part  of  Lord  Bella- 
mont  and  the  Assembly  ? 

Uncle.  Yes,  I  would  so;  considering  it  mere- 
ly in  the  light  of  a  legislative  act.    But  it  is  not 


OF    NEW-YORK.  41 

at  all  likely  that  the  Governor  and  the  Assem- 
bly, in  legislating;  against  the  priests  as  their 
political  enemies  and  treacherous  fjes,  lost  sight 
of  the  hidiousness  of  that  system,  as  a  religion, 
which  could  foster  such  merciless  agents  of 
barbarity,  and  smile  upon  such  horrid  and  cold- 
blooded cruelties.  Indeed,  as  you  will  see  by 
referring  to  the  history  of  your  state,  it  was 
many  long  years  after  this  before  the  members 
of  the  Assembly  could  bring  themselves  to  relax 
their  rigour  against  the  disciples  of  the  pope, 
and  blot  from  their  memories  those  dreadful 
scenes  that  had  been  acted  on  our  northern  bor- 
ders, under  their  supervision. 

John.  We  will  admit  this  act  of  the  Assem- 
bly of  1700  to  a  prominent  place  in  our  eccle- 
siastical record,  sir,  notwithstanding  you  have 
pronounced  it  to  have  been  mainly  a  political 
movement.  And  what  else,  sir,  shall  we  re- 
cord of  Lord  Bf.'llamont's  government? 

Uncle.  I  have  nothing  more  that  would  espe- 
cially interest  you,  to  say  concerning  him;  but 
I  will  mention  to  you,  and  wish  you  to  remem- 
ber, the  nam<i  of  his  successor,  Lord  Corn  bury. 
The  name  of  this  man,  we  will  have  ficf|ueut 
occasion  to  use  in  .spiaking  of  the  origin  and 
establishm'nl  of  Prcsbytr-rianism  in  this  city,  as 
he  form'd  rpiile  a  con.spicuous  figure  in  the 
history  of  that  rhurch.  Thfrcfore  I  wouM  havo 
vou  rememljer  also  the  dale  of  hi.s  dominion  in 
the  province,  which  was  from  1702  to  1708. 


42  T  H  E    C  It  U  R  C  H  K  3 

Henry.  We  have  it,  sir.  But,  was  he  a 
great  friend  to  the  Presbyterians  1 

Uncle.  Oh,  no.  He  was  a  great  and  bitter 
enemy.  And  an  avowed  and  open  enemy  not 
only  to  this,  but  to  every  other  denomination  in 
the  colony,  the  Episcopalian  e^-cepted.  And  to 
this  latter  also,  as  to  its  real  interest  and  final 
prosperity,  the  event  proved  him  to  be,  instead 
of  a  friend,  a  virtual  and  eflTective  enemy.  For 
such  was  his  bigotry  as  a  sectarist,  and  his  anti- 
christian  severity,  and,  oftentimes,  excessive 
cruelty,  which  he  exhibited  towards  those  of 
other  denominations,  that  the  church  which  he 
cherished  finally  came  to  be  regarded  as  an 
enemy  to  the  liberties  of  the  people;  which 
stain  required  the  total  reorganization  of  the 
church,  after  ihe  revolution,  to  wipe  away. 

John.  What  were  some  of  his  cruelties,  sir? 

Uncle..  There  is  a  long  list  of  them,  I  assure 
you,  as  you  will  find  when  we  come  to  discuss 
the  subject  of  his  conduct  towards  the  Presby- 
terians;  but  at  present  I  will  mention  only  a 
iew,  as  showing  you  many  of  the  difficulties 
which  rose  up  as  impediments  in  the  pathway  of 
our  forefathers,  and  with  which  they  had  to 
struggle  long  and  earnpstly  in  securing  to  them- 
selves, and  to  their  children  after  them,  the 
blessed  privileges  of  Christian  liberty  and  reli- 
gious toleration.  The  Presbyterians  were  not 
alone  the  subjects  of  Lord  Cornbury's  violent 
and  bitter  disposition.     Against  all  non-Episco- 


OF    NEW- YORK.  43 

palians,  who  were  called  by  the  general,  but 
inappropriate,  name  of  disscnlers,  were  the 
shafts  of  his  unchristianlike  severity  directed. 
All  denominations,  therefore,  were  alike  fearful 
of  his  religious  rage,  and  experienced,  more  or 
less,  the  cfiects  of  his  animosity.  He  even  car- 
ried his  highhanded  measures  so  far,  as  to  fre- 
quently dispute  the  right  of  the  Butch  to  call 
and  settle  ministers  over  their  own  churches; 
and  this  directly  in  the  face  of  the  privileges 
granted  to  them  by  the  articles  of  the  surrender. 
And  he  required  also,  in  all  cases,  a  license 
from  himself  before  a  icAoo/7?ifisicr  could  be  pro- 
cured by  the  people ! 

Henry.  Is  it  possible  !  I  can  scarcely  believe 
these  things  to  have  taken  place  in  New-York, 
uncle.  But  what  a  happy  circumstance  it  was, 
that  good  old  (Jovernor  Stuyvesant  procured, 
those  stipulations  for  the  "  liberty  of  their  con- 
sciences in  divine  worship  and  church  disci- 
pline," when  he  surrendered  the  city  to  the 
glish. 

Uncle.  It  was  indeed  a  happy,  and  what  pomo 
would  call  a  fortunate  circumstance.  Ijut  let  us 
considf'P  it  not  only  thus,  but  a.s  a  highly  provi- 
dential event,  that  ho  was  enabbd,  by  the  condi- 
tion in  which  the  English  foiuicl  him,  to  require 
of  his  victor  the  a'/r»emfnt  to  articles  so  favour- 
able to  himself  and  .siil)jecls.  And  for  these,  the 
Dutch  inhabitants  of  New- York  had  reason  to 
bless  the  name  of  their  valorous  governor  to 
4 


44  THE    CHURCHES 

their  latest  day.  That  article  especially,  relating 
to  their  religious  liberties,  part  of  which  you 
quoted,  Henry,  was  a  "mairna  charta"  to  them, 
to  which  they  looked,  at  all  times,  as  the  source 
and  defence  of  their  liberties.  This  sheltered 
them  from  the  imposition  of  a  tyrannical  eccle- 
siastical establishment,  and  was  the  motto  of  the 
standard  around  which  they  rallied  for  protec- 
tion. The  virtue  of  these  capitulatory  articles 
the  monarchs  of  England  fully  understood,  and 
they,  therefore,  never  assumed  such  incon- 
sistency of  character  and  tyranny  in  action,  as, 
against  justice,  to  force  the  practice  of  the  forms 
and  modes  of  the  English  Church  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  the  province  of  New-York.  But 
you  may  rest  assured,  that  to  this  intent, 
they  did  as  much  as  they  could,  consist- 
ently with  their  relations  to  the  colonists. 
They  sent  out  clergymen  of  the  English 
Church,  to  officiate  wherever  they  could,  among 
the  people ;  gave  licenses  for  teaching  in  the 
colony,  to  members  of  the  English  Church,  and 
gave  great  inducement  to  the  several  governors 
to  be  zealous  in  the  work  of  making  proselytes. 
This  was  their  common  practice.  But  to  Lord 
Cornbury,  special  instructions  were  given,  re- 
quiring him  to  "  give  all  countenance  and  en- 
couragement to  the  exercise  of  the  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  as  far  as 
conveniently  might  be,  in  the  province: — that 
no  schoolmaster  be  henceforward  permitted  to 


OF    NEW-YORK.  45 

come  from  this  kingdom,  and  to  keep  school  in 
that  our  said  province,  without  the  license  of  the 
said  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  &.c." 

John.  TheBishopof  London,  uncle?  What 
had  he  to  do  with  the  colonies  1 

Uncle.  Well  asked,  John.  It  would  have 
been  better  had  you  been  here  a  hundred  and 
thirty  years  ago  to  ask  Lord  Cornbury  that 
question.  He  would  have  confined  you  in 
prison,  or  set  you  as  a  gazing  stock  in  the  pil- 
lory, it  is  likely;  but  that  wouFd  not  have  vilified 
your  sagacity.  Lord  Cornbury  probably  never 
had  that  quc-stion  whispered  in  his  ear. — But 
had  he  stopped  a  moment  himself  to  consider  it, 
there  were  doubtless  those  in  the  colony,  at  that 
day,  who  could  have  told  him,  that,  though  the 
Bishop  of  London  is  "My  Lord"'  in  England, 
and  enjoys  princfly  power,  yet  the  bounds  of  his 
jurisdiction,  rightfully  and  constitutionally  end 
with  those  of  South  Britain.  But  to  answer 
your  question  more  directly;  the  Bishop  of 
London  appears  to  have  had  much  to  do  with 
the  province.  He  considered  the  colony  as  a 
part  of  his  diocese  ;  and  held  a  supervisory  caro 
over  all  the  Episcopal  clergymen  ihatcame  into 
it ;  whom  he  considered  as  nothing  more  than 
missionaries,  subject  to  his  control. 

Heury.  Missionarios,  sir,  as  long  ago  as  that? 

Uncle.  Oh  yes,  and  miioh  to  their  praise,  a 
Missionary  .Vocie^/,  too.  At  the  time  of  which  wo 
are  speaking,  there  was  a  "society  for  the  propa- 


46  T II  E    C  11  U  R  C  H  E  S 

gation  of  the  gospel  in  foreign  parts"  existing 
in  England,  engaged  continually  in  sending 
out  missionaries  among  the  Indians,  and  all 
through  the  province;  some  of  whom  were 
eminent  for  their  piety,  and  devotion  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Indians :  among  whom  Mr.  Barclay, 
so  long  a  missionary  to  the  Mohawks,  and  after- 
wards rector  of  Trinity  Church,  shines  con- 
spicuously. In  173G,  this  society  had  sixteen 
missionaries  in  the  province  of  New- York  ;  and 
in  1750,  they  had  fifty-nine  missionaries  settled 
as  rectors  or  otherwise,  scattered  throughout 
the  diflercnt  colonies.  It  was  undoubtedly 
proper  that  these  missionaries  should  have  been 
somewhat  under  his  direction  and  care,  and  sub- 
ject, in  some  degree,  to  his  control ;  but  other- 
wise his  powers  as  a  Diocesan  could  not,  justly, 
have  extended  to  the  province.  But  justice  was 
what  his  devoted  servant,  Lord  Cornbury,  never 
seems  to  have  devoted  a  thought  to;  or  if  it 
ever  appeared  in  his  actions,  it  came  in  as  an 
exception,  while  injustice  was  the  rule.  His 
conduct  not  only  set  the  religious  community 
against  him,  but  greatly  increased  the  number 
of  his  political  enemies.  So  much  did  the 
knowledge  of  his  malign  disposition  towards 
the  "dissenters"  awaken  the  jealousy  of  the 
people,  in  regard  to  his  civil  government,  that 
his  every  act  underwent  the  closest  scrutiny. 
And  it  being  impossibh;  for  him  to  make  the 
smallest  digression  unnoticed,  his  lordship  daily 


OF    NEW- YORK.  47 

lost  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  They 
appealed  to  the  Assembly;  and  the  Assembly 
were  all  against  the  governor.  Petitions  from 
all  quarters  were  sent  to  England  for  his 
removal,  and  finally  this  oppressive,  hard-hcart- 
■edgfovernor,  was  deposed. 

John.  I  hope,  sir,  that  the  people  had  a  better 
governor  in  his  successor. 

Uncle.  Here  your  hope  may  be  realized, 
John.  We  will  have  no  more  such  bigoted 
governors  to  deal  with,  in  our  conversations  on 
this  part  of  the  history.  Almost  all  his  succes- 
sors were  mild  and  worthy  men ;  but  as  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  them  again,  in 
connection  with  the  early  history  of  several  of 
the  churches  in  the  city,  we  will  pass  them  over 
for  the  present,  and  mention  only  one  or  two. 
One  of  these  is  Governor  Cosby,  who  was  here 
in  1733:  unlike  Lord  Cornbury,  he  appears  to 
have  been  lenient  in  his  treatment  of  the  non- 
Episcopalians.  It  appears  that  he  had  granted 
a  charter  of  incorporation  to  a  church  in  Sche- 
nectady, by  which  their  privileges  were  very 
materially  increased.  IJpon  the  occasion  of 
their  presenting  him  thanks  for  the  charter,  he, 
in  return,  addressed  them  in  these  words,  which 
we  may  use  as  somewhat  of  a  test  of  his  spirit, 
and  wliich  you,  John,  may  read  from  this  New 
York  Gazette,  of  1734. 

John.  "Gentlemen;     I    shall    always   think 
myself  happy  when  I  have  an  opportunity  to 
4* 


48  T  H  E    C  H  II  R  C  H  E  S 

forward  so  g'ood  a  work  as  encouraging  of 
piety  and  religion  in  this  province  ;  and  I  shall 
upon  all  occasions,  be  ready  to  promote  what- 
soever may  tend  to  the  good  of  His  Majesty's 
subjects  under  my  government."' 

Uncle.  The  other  one  I  wish  to  mention  is 
Governor  Clarke;  who  was  in  the  province, 
you  will  recollect,  during  the  time  of  the  famous 
"  Negro  Plot,"  of  which,  as  it  forms  quite  a 
chapter  in  our  history,  I  will  converse  with 
you  more  fully  hereafter.  It  is  for  another 
reason  that  I  mention  him  now.  In  looking 
over  the  N.  Y.  Gazette  of  173G,  the  only  public 
paper  then  printed  in  the  city,  you  will  find 
Governor  Clarke's  proclamation,  specifying  in- 
structions received  by  him  from  England  in  re- 
gard to  certain  forms  of  prayer  for  the  royal 
family,  in  which  he  was  required  to  have  the 
same  "published  in  the  several  parish  churches, 
and  other  places  of  divine  worship  within  the 
said  province."  This  might,  at  first  sight,  ap- 
pear like  a  reviving  of  the  old  spirit  of  intole- 
rance, so  conspicuous  under  Fletcher's  and 
Cornbury's  administrations.  But  we  must,  I 
think,  put  a  milder  construction  upon  it,  and 
view  it  in  the  light  rather  of  a  slate  than  a 
church  movement.  The  attempt  to  settle  an 
ecclesiastical  establishment  in  the  colony  had 
failed  as  often  as  tried  ;  and  the  Dutch  churches 
were  now  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
charters  of  incorporation.     This,  too,  was  vijr- 


O  F    N  E  \v  -  y  O  R  K  .  49 

tually  acknowledged  in  the  proclnmation. 
Therefore  I  would  rather  have  you  consider  the 
Q,ueen  Regent  as  looking  upon  the  colonists  as 
subjects  merely,  and  she  their  sovereign, 
issuing  this  edict  as  she  would  any  other 
for  the  welfare  of  the  royal  family;  as  applica- 
ble to  all,  indiscriminately,  without  any  regard 
to  sect  or  creed.  A  more  rigid  construction  of 
such  an  edict  on  this  subject,  would  encloud  us 
with  inconsistencies  and  confusion. 

This  will  end  our  conversation,  boys,  for  to 
day.  When  we  meet  again,  we  will  talk  over, 
more  leisurely,  the  habits,  customs,  and  morals 
of  our  city  predecessors. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

THE   MORALS   OF  OUR  CITY   PREDECESSORS. 

John.  Well,  uncle,  I  believe  you  promised 
us,  when  wo  met  again,  something  concerning 
the  cu.stoms,  morals,  and  especially  the  religious 
character  of  the  old  inliabitants  of  the  city  and 
province.      Did  you  not,  sir  ? 

Uiide.  Yes  I  did  so.  I  have  not  forgotten 
my  promi.se;  and  I  tliink  it  will  bo  an  inlf-rest- 
ing  exorcise  for  us,  to  discuss  somewhat  at  large, 


50  THE    CHURCHES 

the  morals  of  the  citizens  generally,  before 
we  proceed  to  the  particular  history  of  the 
churches.  This,  though  it  may  sometimes 
require  a  slight  exercise  of  our  patience, 
will  yet  richly  repay  us  for  all  our  atten- 
tion ;  as  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that 
we  should  form  some  accurate  notions  of 
the  state  of  morals,  and  religious  feelings, 
among  those  whose  secular  history,  as  being 
the  founders  and  supporters  of  our  goodly  city, 
is  so  highly  interesting  to  us.  We  wish  to 
know  what  sense  to  apply  to  the  term,  when  we 
hear  them  spoken  of  as  our  "  Christian  ances- 
tors,'" or  "  our  pious  forefathers."  These  points, 
you  will  find  have  been  slightly  touched  by 
some  of  the  historians  of  the  state.  But  what  I 
wish  to  discuss  with  you  now,  we  will  glean 
directlyfromsuch  old  manuscriptsand  preserved 
newspapers  of  the  day,  as  we  can  find  ;  which 
are  the  purest  sources  of  such  information,  and 
from  whose  subject-matter,  unshackled  by  the 
judgments  cf  others,  we  can  draw  our  own  in- 
ferences, and  make  our  own  final  conclusions. 
Here,  as  you  see,  is  the  regular  file  of  a  news- 
paper, dating  back  as  far  as  the  year  1730; 
which,  as  it  is  still  printed,  has  been  published 
in  this  city,  under  the  name  of  the  "  New- York 
Gazette,"  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  In 
this,  therefore,  we  will  search  for  our  informa- 
tion. 

Henry.  But  was  it  a  religious  newspaper,  sir? 


OF    NE^V-YORK.  51 

Uncle.  No  ;  not  as  we  understand  that  term  ; 
that  is,  exclusively  religious;  for, then,  the  peo- 
ple knew  of  no  such  distinction  between  the  pa- 
pers. It  was  merely  a  public  print  for  the  cir- 
culation of  foreign  and  domestic  news  in  the  pro- 
vince; but,  I  am  happy  to  say,  it  generally  bore 
a  decidedly  religious  character.  For,  then,  al- 
though there  was  for  a  long  while  but  this  one 
paper  in  the  province,  and  it  published  only 
weekly,  yet  there  never  was  such  a  rage  for 
commercial  and  political  news  as  to  require  the 
exclusion  of  religious  topics  from  its  columns, 
to  which  a  large  part  of  the  paper  was  frequent- 
ly devoted.  This  might  have  been  owing  in 
some  degree,  though  by  no  means  in  all,  to  the 
smailness  of  the  place,  and  the  extremely  dimin- 
utive commercial  operations  of  the  colonists, 
compared  with  those  of  the  present  day. 

John.  The  shipping  business  from  this  port 
was  not  very  extensive  then,  I  presume. 

Uncle.  You  are  perfectly  safe  in  such  a  sup- 
position, John  :  as  you  will  easily  perceive  by 
noticing  this  paper  of  1731,  which  has  in  it  but 
one  advertisement  of  a  packet  vessel,  and  that  a 
mere  sloop,  bound  for  Boston.  Little  more  than 
a  hundred  years  ago,  the  arrival  of  a  sloop  or 
a  periauger  from  the  eastward,  or  from  Albany, 
was  an  event  that  never  failed  to  excite  due  no- 
tice from  the  people;  while  the  aj)pearance  of 
a  mrrclinnt  ship,  or  a  man  of  war,  standing  up 
the  bay,  was  quite  an  era  in  the  day-history  of 


5'4  T  n  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 

tho  mptropolis.  Where  now  you  can  see  well- 
built  wharves,  surrounded  by  an  almost  endless 
forest  of  ship-masts,  there  was  then  little  else 
than  an  irregular,  winding  shore,  with  here  and 
there,  perhaps,  made  fast  to  a  stake  or  drawn  up 
high  on  the  sand,  a  small  fishing-smack,  or  a 
totlling  shallop.  The  day  of  steamboats  and 
railroads  had  not  yet  arrived.  The  period  of 
such  improvements  in  every  department  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  as  we  now  see  and  enjoy,  was 
to  them  far  away  in  the  unknown  future.  Every 
thing  moved  at  a  slower  rate  than  at  present. 
What  we  are  accustomed  to  call  a  "trip"  to 
Albany,  and  perform  in  a  few  hours,  they  used 
to  denominate  a  "  voyage"  which  frequently 
took  them  almost  as  many  days.  In  short,  the 
change  which  the  lapse  of  time  has  wrought,  is 
conspicuous  in  every  thing  about  our  growing 
city ;  except  in  the  winds  and  the  tides,  which 
now  blow  upon  it  with  the  same  velocity,  and 
wash  the  shores  of  our  island  with  the  same  re- 
gularity as  before.  But  to  return  from  our 
digression.  If  our  researches  tend  to  establish 
the  religious  character  of  the  public  papers,  we 
shall  advance  not  a  little  in  our  knowledge  of 
the  religious  character  of  the  people  who  sus- 
tained ihem.  This  mode  of  inference  we  will 
consider  as  a  safe  one,  until  we  see  the  purse  of 
an  oppressive  government  sustaining  that  from 
which  the  people  have  withdrawn  their  support. 
Before  such  a  crisis,  this  test  of  the  public 


OF    NEW- YORK. 


morals  is  a  good  one.  And  when  we  find,  in  the 
public  business  papers  of'the  day,  whole  columns 
devoted  to  religious  subjects,  essays  on  doctrinal 
points  in  theology,  exhortations  to  practical 
piety  or  eulogiums  on  the  Christian  scheme; 
when  we  see  conspicuous  notices  of  the  preach- 
ing enjoyed  on  the  Lord's  day  in  the  churches, 
comments  on  the  sermon,  and  frequent  quota- 
tions of  the  texts  in  full;  reflections  upon  the 
state  of  the  public  affairs  in  the  province,  apply- 
ing the  words  of  inspiration  suitable  to  the 
occasions,  for  the  instruction,  reproof  and  ad- 
monition of  the  people ;  frequent  acknowledge- 
ments of  dependence  upon  God,  as  the  Supreme 
Ruler  of  the  universe,  for  every  blessing,  civil, 
religious  and  social ;  we  may  justly  conclude 
that  such  were  acceptable  to  the  readers,  and 
found  favour  with  the  community  at  large. 
These  happy  features  which  our  public  prints 
display  so  little  of  in  these  days  of  greater 
refinevient,  were  quite  prominent  then,  when 
our  forefathers  were  not  too  wise  to  read  from 
their  weekly  paper,  as  well  as  from  the  ever- 
lasting book  of  nature  continually  spread  open 
before  them,  and  acknowledge  too,  that  "  Tiiou 
God  rulest."  If  any  raging  firo  which  threat- 
ened destruction  to  life  or  property,  was  sud- 
denly arrested  in  its  desolatini^  course  by  the 
exertions  of  the  surrounding  inhabitants,  it  was 
publicly  attributed  to  the  "blessing,"  "mercy," 
or  "  providence"  of  God  attending  their  labours. 


54  THE    CHURCHES 

Were  any  wasting  pestilence  or  other  threaten- 
ing evils,  by  any  means  whatever  averted  from 
the  city,  or  from  families;  or  a  drowning  man 
rescued  by  the  timely  assistance  of  his  neigh- 
bours; the  public  papers  would  record,  that 
"By  a  good  Providence,"  or  "under  God," 
such  and  such  means  were  successful.  Or, 
Avere  the  colonists  enlisted  in  a  war  with  their 
insatiable  enemies  on  the  north,  the  French  and 
the  Indians,  and  their  valour  suddenly  crowned 
their  arms  with  success;  in  the  people's  paper 
you  would  read,  "  The  great  Director  of  human 
affairs,  and  Preserver  of  mankind,"  hath  smiled 
upon  our  struggle,  and  given  us  a  victory  over 
our  barbarous  foes.  Such  as  these  are  what  I 
mean  when  I  speak  of  the  evidences  of  the  reli- 
gious character  of  the  public  papers.  Nor  are 
they  few  or  scarce.  You  will  find  them  scat- 
tered throughout  almost  every  number  of  these 
early  prints  ;  affording  us  good  consolation  on 
the  question  of  the  state  of  religious  feelings  in 
the  community  then. 

Henri/.  But,  sir,  the  subjects  might  have 
gotten  this  cu.stom  from  their  king,  who  always 
in  such  state  proclaimed  himself  to  be,  '•  B?/ 
the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Ireland,"  &c. 

Uncle.  True,  this  might  have  been  the  case. 
But  if  so,  we  have  full  reason  to  believe  that 
they  so  far  improved  upon  the  example,  as  to 
drop  the  form  upon  occasions  when  their  feel- 


OF    NEU-YORK.  55 

ings  were  not  an  echo  to  the  spirit  of  the  words. 
But  let  the  precedent  have  been  what  it  might, 
the  simple  fact  is  all  that  I  would  press  upon 
your  attention.  The  same  happy  feature  also 
we  find  in  the  character  of  the  public  documents 
of  most  of  the  governors,  such  as  their  messages 
to  the  assembly,  proclamations  to  the  people, 
&c.,  in  which  they  acknowledge,  in  form  and 
appearance  at  least,  the  hand  of  an  overruling 
Providence,  and  the  maniibld  blessings  conse- 
quent upon  it  as  purchased  for  us  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour,  even  in  rela- 
tion to  events  of  minor  national  importance. 
Their  weekly  prints,  for  "dailies"  belong  to  a 
much  later  date,  teem  with  evidences  of  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  people  in  the  faith  and  practice 
of  the  reformed   Protestant  churches. 

These,  as  if  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple, were  considered  always  open  as  a  medium 
for  the  circulation  of  religious  as  well  as  com- 
mercial and  political  news.  The  state  of  the 
churches  form  a  source  of  much  observation, 
and  you  will  find  frequent  notices  concerning 
them. 

John.  Notices  of  the  clergymen,  too,  I  sup- 
pose. 

Uncle.  Yos,  and  of  their  preaching.  Espe- 
cially the  leaders  of  any  particular  sect,  or  gen- 
eral reformers  in  religion,  were  mentioned. 
And  of  these  latter,  Whitfield,  in  particular,  was 
the  sul  jecl  of  much  remark.  Uf  him  we  find 
6 


THE    ClIURCHKS 


frequent  and  favourable  notices  in   the   New- 
YoiU  papers. 

Henry.  Oh,  sir,  he  was  a  man  of  such  celeb- 
rity, that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be  passed 
over  in  forgetfulncss.  His  fame  was  spread 
abroad  throughout  all  the  colonies,  and  end- 
less crowds  of  listeners  wherever  he  went, 
well  attested  the  fact  of  his  popularity;  did 
they  not,  sir? 

Unde.  Yes,  to  a  great  degree  your  remarks 
are  true:  and  1  am  sorry  to  cast  the  least  shade 
upon  the  brightness  of  your  retrospect.  But 
necessity  would  have  you  remember,  that  the 
lapse  of  time  has  not  worn  away  the  truth  of 
the  assertion,  "  a  prophet  is  not  without 
honour,  save  in  his  own  country,  and  among 
his  own  kin" — which  is  as  true  and  applicable 
to  the  present  as  to  the  day  of  our  Saviour's 
utterance  of  it. 

When  a  prophet  is  in  our  midst,  we  are 
apt  to  disparage  his  abilities,  and  to  under- 
rate his  claims  upon  our  attention  and  obedience, 
and  to  judge  him  with  harsh  judgment,  and  to 
"stone  him  to  death;"  but  when  he  is  gone, 
and  the  clods  of  the  valley  cover  him,  and  two 
or  three  generations  intervene,  the  character  of 
his  labours  begin  to  assume  its  proper  place  in 
the  affections  of  his  successors;  and  his  popu- 
larity too,  if  I  may  so  speak,  increases,  and 
they  begin  to  appreciate  the  worth  of  such  a 


OF    NEW-YORK.  01 

man,  and  to  "build  the  tomb  of  the  pvopliet." 
So  it  was  in  some  measure  with  the  great  Whit- 
field. You  have  heard  so  much  of  his  great- 
ness and  popularity,  that  no  wonder  you  were 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  for  a  long  time  he  ap- 
peared as  one  man  struggling  against  a  mighty 
phalanx  of  enemies.  He  was  surrounded  with 
enemies,  and  of  these  there  were  not  a  feio  who 
would  have  wrested  from  him,  even  the  last  re- 
fuge of  an  unfortunate  man,  his  honesty. 

Henry.  George  Whitfield  had  such  bitter 
enemies!     I  hope  not  in  New  York,  sir. 

Uncle.  It  was  in  reference  to  this  point  alone, 
that  I  mention  his  name  to  you  at  all ;  only  as 
he  is  connected  with  the  ecclesiastical  hii*)ry  of 
the  city.  Besides  the  ordinary  modes,  we  have 
one  other  sure  way  of  judging  concerning  his 
reception  here;  that  is,  by  the  tone  of  the  pub- 
lic papers  of  the  day.  And  we  will  find  our 
examination  on  this  point  to  be  encouraging, 
and  strontrly  in  favour  of  your  expressed  hope, 
Henry.  We  know  that  his  enemies  brought 
heavy  accusations  against  him,  but  we  know 
also  that  thfy  wfP';  unjust,  malicioiis,  and  alto- 
gether unfounded  in  truth.  Many  false  reports, 
and  some  printefl  articles,  highly  injurious  to 
his  character,  had  been  widely  circulated  in  the 
diflferent  parts  of  thf  coimtry,  and  did  him  much 
mischief  Hut  of  the  pufilic  opinion  concern- 
ing Mr.  Whitfield,  in  New-York,  I  ihinic  wo 
can   arrive   at    more   satisfactory   conclusions. 


58  Tin:  ciiuuciiEs 

And  with  this  view  I  have  copied  from  the 
New-York  Post  Boy  (which  was  the  same  as 
the  New- York  Gazette)  of  April,  174G,  which 
had  quite  an  extensive  circulation  in  the  sur- 
rounding country,  the  following  extract ;  which 
undoubtedly  did  much  to  remove  lingering  pre- 
judices among  the  people,  and  thus  to  help  on 
that  great  cause  of  righteousness,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  which  all  Whitfield's  toils  and 
labours  were  endured,  and  all  his  strength  and 
life  spent.     You  may  read  it,  John. 

John.  "  Mr.  Whitfield's  excellent  parts,  fine 
elocution,  and  masterly  address;  his  admirable 
talent  of  opening  the  Scriptures,  and  enforcing 
the  most  weighty  subjects  upon  the  conscience; 
his  polite  and  serious  behaviour  ;  his  unaflccted 
and  superior  piety  ;  his  prudence,  humility,  and 
catholic  spirit,  are  things  which  must  silence 
and  disarm  prejudice  itself  By  these  qualifi- 
cations of  the  orator,  the  divine,  and  the  Chris- 
tian, he  has  not  only  fixed  himself  deeper  in  the 
affections  of  his  former  friends,  but  greatly  in- 
creased the  number  wherever  he  has  preached; 
and  made  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  several 
who,  till  this  visit,  had  said  all  the  severe  things 
against  him  that  enmity  itself  seemed  capable  of." 

Uncle.  This  paper  noticed  also,  from  one  to 
another,  the  place  of  his  preaching — his  arrival 
in  the  city — his  departure  from  it,  destination, 
&c. 

John.  But  I  should  like  very  much  to  know, 


O  F    N"  E  W  -  Y  O  R  K  .  59 

sir,  whereabouts  in  this  city,  the  great  Whit- 
field used  to  preach.  I  think  I  should  gaze 
with  interest  upon  the  spot,  after  what  I  have 
heard.  I  suppose  he  must  sometimes  have  re- 
sorted to  the  streets  and  fields? 

Uncle.  He  did  in  many  instances.  We 
find  very  frequent  mention  made  of  his  preach- 
ing in  the  open  fields  in  the  neighbouring 
country  around.  The  old  City  E.xchange, 
which  stood  at  the  foot  of  Broad-street,  near 
Water-street,  and  which  was  built  on  large 
arches,  was  a  flivou  rile  place  for  itinerant  preach- 
ers. Here  Whitfield  might  probably  at  times 
have  held  forth.  But  as  to  other  places,  we 
have  more  certain  knowledge  thnn  probabilities. 
During  his  first  visit  to  New-York,  say  from 
1745  to  1^60,  he  generally  preached  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall-street,  which  was 
then  the  only  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city. 
And  afterwards,  a  i'nw  years  before  his  death, 
he  was  heard  to  preach  in  the  Brick  Church, 
in  Beekman-street ;  which  wa?,  then,  familiarly 
called  the  "Brick  Meeting,"  and  in  common 
parlance,  said  to  be  "  in  the  fields;"  so  little  was 
the  city  e.vtended  in  17G7. 

Heanj.  I  sh  ill  gaze  upon  the  Brick  Church, 
with  more  pleasure  and  reverence  than  for- 
merly, when  I  recollect  that  within  those 
walls  the  great  Whitfield  preached.  But  you 
spoke  of  his  death,  sir.  Will  you  tell  us  when 
that  event  happened? 


60  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  I  think  it  was  in  the  year  1770.  He 
died  and  was  buried  at  Newburyport,  Mass. 
The  particulars  of  this  event  you  can  read  in 
his  memoirs.  I  have  an  anecdote  concerning^ 
this  great  and  good  man  to  tell  you,  which 
took  its  rise  in  this  city;  but  which  I  will  re- 
serve until  we  meet  asfain. 


CHAPTER   SIXTH. 

MORALS    OF    OUR    CITY     PREDECESSORS CON- 
TINUED. 

Henry.  Now,  sir,  we  are  ready  for  the  pro- 
mised anecdote. 

Uncle.  Well,  you  shall  have  it.  And  I  relate 
the  circumstance  to  you  as  nothing  new  or 
strange,  nor  as  untold  before,  Ijut  as  deriving 
its  special  interest  to  us,  merely  from  the  fact 
of  its  having  taken  place  in  this  city. 

It  was  on  ^the  occasion  of  his  preaching 
before  the  seamen  of  the  city;  and  the  in- 
troduction of  the  following  bold  apostrophe  into 
his  sermon,  was  the  circumstance  I  alluded  to: — 
"  Well,  my  boys,  we  have  a  cloudless  sky,  and 
are  making  fine  headway  over  a  smooth  sea, 


OF    NEW-YORK.  61 

before  a  light  breeze,  and  we  shall  soon  lose 
sight  of  land.  But  what  means  this  sudden 
lowering  of  the  heavens,  and  that  dark  cloud 
arising  from  beneath  the  western  horizon? 
Hark!  Don'tyou  hearthedistant thunder?  Don't 
you  see  those  flashes  of  lightning?  There  is  a 
storm  gathering  !  Every  man  to  his  duty ! 
How  the  waves  rise  and  dash  against  the  ship ! 
The  air  is  dark  !  The  tempest  rages  !  Durmasts 
are  gone!  What  next?"  The  unsuspecting  tars, 
reminded  of  former  perils  on  the  deep,  as  if 
struck  by  the  power  of  magic,  arose,  and  with 
united  voices  exclaimed,  "  Take  to  the  long- 
boat!" 

How  such  an  opportunity  of  impressing  di- 
vine truth  upon  the  mind  of  his  hearers  was  in 
this  case  improved  by  him,  is  not  for  me  to  say  ; 
but  enough  so,  undoubtedly,  to  show  such  oppor- 
tunities were  sufficiently  valued  by  him  who 
had  sufficient  abilitii-s  to  produce  them.  Mr. 
Whitfield's  preaching  was  very  effectual  in 
this  city,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  in  the  con- 
version of  multitudes  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
the  Redeemer.  So  blessed  were  his  labours 
here,  that  it  was  found  necessary  immcdiatily 
to  enlarge  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall- 
street,  by  the  erection  of  galleries  in  it ;  and  a 
year  or  two  after,  they  were  again  obliged  to 
enlarge  it  nearly  one  third,  to  accommodate  the 
stated  worshippers. 

John.  But  were  the  governors  favourably 
disposed  towards  Mr.  Whitfield,  sir? 


62  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  To  this  we  will  not  seek  a  direct  and 
positive  answer.  But  there  is  little  hazard  in 
supposing  that  they  gave  him  no  very  great  en- 
couragement;  although,  being  a  regular  priest 
in  the  established  Church  of  England,  they 
could  not  well  restrain  him,  as  they  might  pos- 
sibly have  done,  or  attempted  to  do  so,  had  he 
appeared  here  without  the  canonical  robes. 
We  find  them  generally  to  have  been  strictly 
sectarian,  and  sometimes  bigoted  in  their 
attachment  to  the  Church  of  England;  where- 
in, you  know,  Whitfield  differed  very  ma- 
terially from  them.  He  was  no  sectarist; 
he  knew  no  church  but  Christ's  ;  no  standard 
of  doctrine  but  the  Bible  ;  no  banner  but  of  the 
cross.  And  whrn  he  preached  to  the  listening 
multitudes  that  followed  him  in  New  York  city, 
and  elsewhere,  he  preached  to  them,  not  as  an 
Episcopalian,  but  as  a  Christian  merely,  carry- 
ing the  messages  of  his  great  Master  with  faith- 
fulness to  his  guilty  fellow-mortals,  without  re- 
gard to  name  or  sect.  This  feature  in  his  preach- 
ing was  well  illustrated  on  one  occasion,  by 
himself,  which  has  come  down  to  us  as  a  matter 
of  history.  Do  you  remember  the  anecdote  I 
refer  to,  Henry? 

John.  I  should  like  very  much  to  hear  it,  sir. 

Henri/.  I  think  it  was  this.  When  Mr. 
Whitfieid  was  one  day  preaching  in  Market- 
street,  Philadelphia,  from  the  balcony  of  the 
Court-house,  he  cried  out,  "Father  Abraham, 


OF    N  E  W-YORK.  bo 

who  have  you  in  heaven?  any  Episcopalians?" 
"No!"  "any  Presbyterians?  any  Baptists?" 
"  No  !"  "  Have  you  any  Methodists,  Seceders, 
or  Independents  there?"  "No!  No!"  "Why, 
who  have  you  there  ?"  "  We  don't  know  those 
names  here,  All  that  are  here  are  Christians — 
believers  in  Christ — men  who  have  overcome 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  the  word  of  his 
testimony."  "  O,  is  this  the  case  ?  then  God 
help  me.  God  help  us  all  to  forget  party 
names,  and  to  become  Christians,  indeed  and  in 
truth." 

Uncle,  it  would  be  well  for  the  world,  were 
all  professin<T  Christians,  in  this  respect,  his  dis- 
ciples. And  it  might  have  been  better  for  our 
city,  perhaps,  had  the  governors  generally  been 
more  friendly  to  all  evangelical  sects,  without 
di.stiiiction.  But  this  is  leading  us  away  ;  our 
business  is  will)  diets,  and  not  with  surmises  of 
what  might,  or  would  have  been  the  state  of  the 
churches  here,  had  the  circumstances  been  dif- 
ferent. What  we  should  do,  is,  to  mark  with 
attention  the  course  pursued  by  our  predeces- 
sors, and  in  inulating  them,  avoid  only  their 
faults. 

John.  But  we  should  be  glad  to  see  that  the 
governors  generally  seemed  to  take  so  great  an 
interest  in  the  success  and  prosperity  of  tho 
"English  Church,"  and,  through  its  instru- 
mentality, the  success  of  religion  and  uKualily 
in  the  city  and  the  province. 


64  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  We  should.  And  they  gave  the 
best  evidence  of  their  interest  in  the  matter,  and 
the  best  encouragement  to  the  people  for  erect- 
ing churches  that  they  could  give;  viz.  their 
personal  attendance  upon  occasions  of  the  dedi- 
cation of  churches  to  the  service  of  the  triune 
God.  We  find  fiequent  notices  of  the  govern- 
ors' attendance,  with  their  families,  upon  such 
occasions.  This  was  customarily  practiced  by 
them.  But  their  care,  however,  was  not  always 
exclusively  confined  to  the  Episcopal  Church. 
Governor  Montgomerie,  with  some  others,  is 
an  instance  to  the  contrary.  The  churches, 
then,  had  also  a  practice  of  greeting,  in  their 
character  as  distinct  bodies,  the  newly  arrived 
governors,  when  they  first  appeared  here; 
which  gradually  passed  into  a  regular  custom, 
We  see  notices  of  it,  more  or  less,  down  from 
the  time  of  Lieutenant-Governor  De  Lancy,  in 
1758.  The  several  churches,  represented  by 
their  clergymen,  elders,  and  deacons,  would 
wait  upon  the  governor  in  due  form,  to  pay 
their  respects,  and  to  wish  him  peace  and  pros- 
perity, and  to  invoke  the  blessings  of  heaven 
upon  his  person  and  government.  This  they 
gave  as  their  best  boon,  and  ofFI^red  as  the  best 
evidence  of  their  loyalty  as  subjects,  and  their 
benevolence  as  Christians. 

Henry.  I  suppose  tiiat  there  were  no  theatres 
in  the  city,  in  those  days,  sir;  when  the  public 
papers  bore  such  marks  of  morality? 


0  F    N  E  AV  -  Y  0  R  K .  65 

Uncle.  No !  Your  surmise  is  correct.  A 
theatre  was  an  almost  unheard  of  thing  in  this 
city,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The  first 
notice  that  I  have  found  in  the  public  prints,  of 
such  an  institution,  was  in  a  paper  of  the  year 
1754  ;  in  which  a  "new  theatre,  in  Nassau- 
street,"  was  adveitised,  and  where  tico  actors, 
only,  appeared  on  the  stage.  As  no  other  notice 
appears  for  some  time,  it  was  probably  only 
once  in  a  long  while;  or,  what  was  more  pro- 
bably the  case,  the  preparations  were  merely 
temporary.  It  was  not  till  towards  the  begin- 
ning of  the  revolutionary  war,  that  there  came 
to  be  a  regularly  established  theatre  in  the  city. 
— Then  we  have  a  record  of  two,  called  the 
"old,"  and  the  "new  ;"  one  in  John-street,  near 
Broadway;  and  the  other  in  Bcekman-slreet, 
then  known  as  Chapel-street,  on  account  of  "  St. 
George's  Chapel,"  built  there  in  1755. 

John.  Only  two!  and  those  small  ones,  I 
presume,  sir.  But  now,  what  a  list  of  them  we 
have.     There  is 

Henri/.  Pray  do  not  enumerate  them,  John. 
It  is  enough  to  know  the  number  of  these 
schools  of  vice,  and  moral  corruption,  in  our 
city.  We  can  only  mourn  over  the  change 
in  the  public  taste,  with  regard  to  these 
matters.  Uncle  looked  in  vain  for  the  re- 
petition of  a  scanty  notice  of  a  thf  aire  play, 
in  a  public  business  paper,  published  in 
ihia    city    seventy-four   years  ago ;    and   now 


CG  THE    C  II  U  R  C  H  E  s 

our  most  widely  circulated  daily  papers,  arc 
filled  with  regular  notices  ol'  these  institutions, 
which  are  so  numerous. 

Uncle.  Your  abhorrence  of  theatres  is  just. — 
They  have  been  cried  upas  "schools  of  morals;" 
but  that  cry  has  long  since  ceased  to  breathe  in 
the  atmosphere  of  truth  and  sincerity.  It  has 
now  become  an  idle  tale,  to  talk  of  the  morality 
of  theatres.  Instead  of  being  schools  of  virtue 
and  morality,  they  are  eminently  those  of  vice 
and  irreligion;  and  a  worse  place  of  evening 
resort  for  the  young  can  hardly  be  imagined  to 
have  an  existence  in  our  enlightened  city.  And 
it  is  a  happy  feature  in  their  history,  that  our 
city  predecessors,  in  years  gone  by,  had  domes- 
tic ties  and  social  joys  enough,  to  bind  them  to 
their  happy  homes,  without  seeking  such  vain 
enjoyments.  Their  joyous  fire-side  was  their 
only  stage,  and  in  the  cheerful  circle  themselves 
were  the  actors ;  and  for  ha])piness,  they  needed 
not  to  resort  to  the  crowded  bull,  or  to  the"  theatre, 
overflowing  with  the  giddy,  pleasure-seeking 
multitude.  And  we  can  confidently  express  the 
opinion,  that  their  religious  scruples  would  have 
prevented  their  attendance,  had  such  institutions 
then  had  an  exi.stence  within  the  bounds  of  their 
goodly  city. 

John.  This  is  very  satisfactory,  sir.  The 
account  you  have  given  us,  speaks  well  for  the 
moral  and  religious  character  of  the  former 
inhabitants  of  the  city. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  67 

Henry.  But  this  is  only  the  bright  side  of  the 
picture,  1  suppose.  And  there  are,  undoubtedly, 
things,  that  could  be  told  us,  which  would  cast  a 
deep  shade  upon  the  brighmcss  of  the  view. 

Uncle.  You  are  quite  right,  Henry.  If 
we  find  their  excellencies  in  some  things,  we  can 
also  see  their  failings  in  others.  But  you  ap- 
pear to  have  already  received  some  information 
on  this  subject;  and  I  will  thank  you  to  men- 
tion some  things  wherein  you  remember  them 
to  have  come  short  of  the  standard  of  the  present 
day :  or  in  other  words,  those  which  we  now 
look  upon  as  blemishes  in  their  moral  character. 

Henry.  If  I  have  been  informed  aright,  they 
had  pvblic  lotteries,  which  were  patronized  by 
all  classes  of  society;  intemperance  was  rife  in 
the  land;  and,  lastly,  the  blot  of  slavery  sullies 
their  reputation. 

Uncle.  Yes,  these  charges  cannot  be  denied; 
they  stand  out  prominently  upon  the  pages  of 
their  history.  But  if  we  fail  to  wipe  away  en- 
tirely the  stain,  let  us  endeavour,  by  a  know- 
ledge of  the  attendant  circumstances,  to  mitigate 
the  rigour  of  our  judgment.  Public  lotteries, 
though  now  prohibited  by  the  law  of  the  state, 
were  much  in  vogue  here  eighty  or  a  hundred 
years  ago;  and  not  only  here,  but  in  all  the 
cities  and  provinces  of  his  Britannic  majesty,  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic;  and  in  England  too. 
They  were  employed,  by  the  governinont  of 
this  and  other  provinces,  in  raising  money  for 
G 


68  T II  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  L  S 

the  public  expenses,  such  as  paying-  and  sus- 
taining armies,  erecting  public  buildings,  for 
charitable  or  other  purposes,  and  for  providing 
forts  and  military  stations  on  the  frontiers. 
Columbia  College  in  this  city,  then,  and  for 
many  years,  called  "  King's  College,"  was 
founded  by  the  means  of  the  avails  of  a  pub- 
lic lottery.  They  were  in  common  use  also 
in  Connecticut,  and  even  in  New-Haven,  the 
palladium  of  Connecticut's  religion  and  mo- 
rality. There  is  still  e.xtant,  a  printed  scheme 
of  a  lotteiy  originated  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing a  public  wharf  in  that  city.  Whether  this 
was  tlie  famous  "long  wharf,"  or  some  ante- 
rior one,  you  may  reserve  as  a  matter  of  inqui- 
ry. You  see  by  this,  how  extensively  they 
were  in  use.  But  it  docs  not  appear,  that  the 
people  were,  then,  at  all  aware  of  the  pernicious 
tend(  ncies  of  the  system  upon  the  community  at 
large.  This  was  a  lesson  of  sad  experience, 
which  the  lapse  of  lime  alone  could  teach  them. 
We,  however,  find  a  law,  early  enforced,  for- 
bidding the  use  of  pricate  lotteries.  And  al- 
though this  system  of  immorality  existed  long 
in  our  citJ^  yet  it  is  a  matter  of  praise  to  the 
great  Ruler  of  the  universe,  in  whose  hands  is 
"  the  heart  of  the  king,"  that  a  sound  and  health- 
ful legislation  has  at  length  swept  it  all  away. 

Julin.  Intemperance,  sir,  is  the  second 
charge. 

Uncle.    But  this   is   a   charge  which    lies 


0  F    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  69 

equally  at  the  door  of  all,  for  many  generations 
back.  Not  that  they  favoured  or  countenanced 
intemperance,  but  that  they  were,  universally, 
temperate  drinkers,  and  the  creature,  alcohol, 
was  in  common  use.  You  will  find  frequent 
mention  in  the  old  papers,  of  the  joyous  occa- 
sions in  this  city,  at  the  birth-day  ceU-brations 
of  the  kins',  princes,  dukrs,  &c.  On  these  oc- 
casions, the  jrovernor,  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
chief  men  of  the  city,  after  the  regular  morning- 
service  in  the  Trinity  Church,  were  accustomed 
to  assemble  at  the  fort,  and  spend  the  remainder 
of  the  day  in  drinking  bumpers  to  the  heahh  of 
"  His  Majesty,"  &;c.  While  the  people  with- 
out, amply  supplied  with  the  same,  or  coarser 
stimulants,  kept  up  the  scene.  Here  was  the 
great  mistake  of  our  predecessors;  they  were 
unacquainted  with  the  only  touchstone  of  safety, 
total  abstinence. 

Henry.  This  we  can  the  more  readily  pass 
over,  seeing  we  were  ail,  so  lately,  in  the  same 
condf'mnation. 

Uncle.  But  they  were  not  altogether  blinded 
to  the  desolating  efiVcts  of  strong  drink,  though 
they  failed  of  rtaching  the  true  ground  of  safe- 
ty. We  find  the  assembly  of  Nov.  1750,  pass- 
ing an  act  to  re.^train  tavernkrcpers  and  inn- 
holders,  from  selling  strong  lif|uors  to  servants, 
and  apprentices;  and  from  giving  large  credit 
to  any.  Thu.s  we  see  that  they  had,  at  least, 
some  suspicions  of  the  monster. 


70  THE    CHURCHES 

John.  Then,  lastly,  comes  slavery,  sir. 

Uncle.  Yes,  and  this  is  the  most  painful  sub- 
ject of  all,  boys;  slill  we  must  meet  it.  But, 
as  the  consideration  of  the  subject  will  require 
iDore  of  our  time  than  we  can  at  present  spare, 
we  will  defer  it  till  we  meet  again  ;  when  I 
will  present  you  with  a  short  account  of  slavery 
as  it  once  existed  iu  the  city  and  province  of 
New  York. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 

COLONIAL  SLAVERY. NEGRO  PLOT. 

Henry.  Slavery,  sir,  is  the  last  serious  charge 
I  have  to  bring  against  the  Christian  character 
of  our  city  predecessors.  And  it  is  a  point  on 
which  we  are  especially  desirous  of  receiving 
information,  such  as  we  are  confident  that  you 
can  give  us.  We  would  like  to  gather  some- 
thing of  its  history  here,  sir. 

Uncle.  It  is,  indeed,  a  heavy  charge,  boys,  to 
bring  against  any  people  or  nation.  And  in 
giving  you  some  historical  data  of  its  origin 
and  existence  here,  I  must  necessarily  relate 
many  things  that  were  consequent  upon  its 
existence,  which  darken  rather  than  brighten 


OF    NE^-YORK.  71 

the  view  we  have  already  taken.  Althoui^h 
this  moral  blot  no  longer  sullies  our  reputation 
as  a  state,  and  the  rising  generation  seem 
scarcely  to  be  conscious  of  the  fact,  yet  the  time 
has  not  long-  been  passed  when  all  the  horrors 
and  evils,  both  physical  and  moral,  of  such  a 
system  of  cruelty  and  oppression,  were  rife  in 
the  midst  of  us.  Consequently,  when  we  advert 
to  some  startling  tales  of  fact,  we  will  advert  to 
them  as  the  legitimate  fruits  of  the  existence  of 
slavery,  and  blame  our  predecessors  rather  for 
the  system  than  for  the  fruits  of  it.  You  would 
be  surprised,  in  looking  over  the  old  newspa- 
pers of  that  day,  to  see  the  numerous  evidences 
of  the  existence  of  that  dreadful  system  that 
abound  there.  Look,  for  instance,  into  this  pa- 
per, of  the  year  1730,  and  read. 

John.  New-York  Gazitle,  September  21st, 
1730.  "To  bo  sold  at  Benjamin  D'Harrcttc's 
house,  one  negro  man,  named  Scipio,  a  cooper, 
about  22  years  old;  and  one  ditto,  named  Mus- 
ter, a  house-carpenter  and  ploughman,  and  fit 
for  country  work,  about  2G  years  old.  ' 

Henry.  Another,  sir.  October  12th,  1730. 
"To  b<;  .sold  on  reasonable  terms,  a  likely  negro 
girl,  about  18  years  of  age — a  likely  negro  boy, 
about  10  years  of  age — both  born  in  this  city. 
They  can  speak  good  English  and  Dutch,  and 
arc  bred  up  to  all  sorts  of  housework.  And 
also,  a  new  negro  man.  Inquire  at  the  Post 
Office,  New  York." 


72  THE    CHURCHES 

John.  And  this  in  New- York!  But  there 
must  have  been  slaves  in  the  city,  I  presume, 
long  bclbrc  the  date  of  this  paper? 

Uncle.  Yes,  nearly  a  hundred  years  before 
this.  Several  iree  negroes  appear  on  the  city 
records,  as  patentees  of  lands,  as  early  as  the 
)'-ear  1G43,  while  William  Kieft,  the  builder  of 
the  first  church,  was  still  governor.  And  still 
more,  under  Governor  Stuyvesant's  commis- 
sion, in  1646.  It  is  said  that  Governoi  Stuyve- 
sant  came  to  New- Amsterdam,  or  New-York, 
from  Brazil,  and  brought  with  him  some  free 
negroes,  whom  he  settled,  as  freemen,  upon 
farms,  near  his  own  residence,  on  his  bowery. 

Henry.  The  governor's  farvi  gave  name, 
I  suppose,  to  the  street  now  known  as  the 
Bowery? 

Uncle.  Yes.  It  was  formerly  called  "the 
High  Road  to  Boston." 

John.  Then  this  brave  governor  was  not  a 
slaveholder  ? 

Uncle.  It  appears  not  from  this.  Some 
have  said  that  Africans  were  brought  into 
the  city,  as  slaves,  by  the  Dutch,  before  their 
surrender  in  1664  ;  and  that  they  were 
procured  from  Curacoa,  an  island  in  the  Car- 
ribbean  Sea.  But  others  affirm,  that  they 
were  introduced  into  the  province  as  slaves, 
FIRST,  by  the  English,  instead  of  the  Dutch ; 
who  brought  them  from  Barbadoes,  where 
they  purchased  them  in    exchange    for    pro- 


OF    NEW-YORK.  73 

visions,  and  such  other  necessaries  of  life. 
However  this  may  be,  we  find  early  records 
of  their  being  here,  and  early  acts  of  legislation 
in  regard  to  them  as  slaves,  after  the  government 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  Slaves 
in  this  province,  and  in  our  goodly  city,  were 
treated  generally  in  the  same  manner  that  they 
are  treated  elsewhere.  They  were  publicly 
bought  and  sold ;  let  out  as  chatties  or  working 
animals ;  and  looked  upon  as  a  race  approxi- 
mating to  the  brute  creation.  Their  liberties 
as  men  were  very  much  restricted ;  or  rather, 
their  restrictions  as  slaves  were  unnecessarily 
increased.  They  were  debarred  the  privilege 
of  often  seeing  each  other,  or  of  assembling 
more  than  two  or  three  together  at  the  same 
time,  except  in  the  presence  of  some  white  per- 
son. For  slight  crimes,  they  were  "  burnt  in  the 
hand  ;"  which  was  a  common  mode  of  punish- 
ment in  those  days.  And  for  crimes  of  greater 
magnitude,  hitraiug  at  the  slake  was  the  horrid 
resort  for  punishment.  There  are  many  instances 
of  this  kind  on  record. 

Henry.  This  was  one  oi  the  most  dreadful 
fruits  of  the  system,  sir.  1  suppose  there  were 
slave  auctions  then  't 

Uncle.   Yes.     iSlaves  were  generally  sold  at 

fiublic  auction  ;  and  these  auctions  were  general- 
y  held  at  the  CuJ/h:  House,  a  well-known  place 
of  resort  in  those  days. 

The  Provincial  Assembly  early  laid  taxes 


74  THECnURCHES 

upon  slaves  as  property,  which  might  have  acted 
somewhat  as  a  depression  upon  the  system.  In 
1737,  the  Assembly  laid  the  following  taxes  by 
law:  For  every  negro,  or  other  slave,  imported 
from  Africa,  the  sum  of  40  shillings;  and  for 
every  slave  from  other  places,  jour  pounds. 
But  the  circumstance  of  most  importance  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  slavery  in  this  city, 
was  the  celebrated  "  negro  plot,"  in  the  year 
1740-4!,  of  which  you  have  probably  heard 
somewhat. 

Henry.  It  was  during  Governor  Clarke's 
administration,  I  believe,  sir? 

Uncle.  It  was:  and  it  occasioned  much  dis- 
turbance in  the  colony  for  a  long  while.  There 
were,  at  the  time  of  the  "Conspiracy,"  about 
eight  hundred  slaves  scattered  around  in  the 
different  families  in  and  about  the  city;  and 
these  were  supposed  to  be  engaged  in  a  horrid 
plot,  to  burn  the  city  and  murder  the  inhabit- 
ants, their  masters.  The  first  circumstance 
that  awakened  the  fears  of  the  peoj)Ie  was  the 
burning  of  the  "King's  Chapel,"  on  Wednes- 
day, March  18,  1741.  This  was  the  first  of 
that  series  of  alarming  fires  which  occurred 
during  that  memorable  winter  of  1740-41  ; 
and  its  origin  was  accounted  for  in  different 
ways.  The  report  of  a  conspiracy  among  the 
slaves,  to  burn  the  town  and  murder  the  citizens, 
had  no*,  yet  been  spread,  and  the  fire  was  as- 
cribed to  accident.      This  supposition  at  first 


O  F    N  E  ^V  -  Y  0  R  K.  75 

appeared  plausible,  and  was  without  doubt 
founded  in  the  truth.  But  as  soon  as  the 
whispering's  of  a  conspiracy  began  to  circulate, 
the  whole  torrent  of  accusation  was  turned  upon 
the  poor  slaves,  and  many  of  them  were  arrested 
immediately  upon  suspicion,  and  confined  in 
dismal  dLmg"eons,  to  await  trial  and  punish- 
ment. 

John.  But  wore  they  indeed  guilty? 

Uncle.  You  have  given  me  a  difficult  ques- 
tion. There  was  undoubtedly  something 
connected  with  the  Spanish  negroes,  who 
had  lately  come  into  the  colony,  to  give 
rise  to  such  an  opinion.  But  at  this  late  day,  it 
is  extremely  dilHcult  for  us  to  draw  the  line  of 
separation  between  the  truth  and  error  in  the 
case — between  tlie  innocent  and  the  guilty 
ones.  Many  were  at  first  arrested  upon  mere 
suspicion,  or  circumstantial  evidence  of  their 
guilt,  and  thrown  into  prison,  there  to  await 
their  trial,  and  perhaps  condemnation.  Others, 
for  fear  of  the  same  fate,  and  urged  on  by 
bribes  as  well  as  threats,  confessed  many  things, 
both  true  and  false;  and  in  some  instances,  to 
gave  their  lives,  told  talcs  of  their  own  in- 
vention. Accusers  were  encouraged,  and  their 
accusations  were  received,  until,  at  length,  a 
"negro  conspiracy"  was  believed  to  have  been 
really  plaiuicd;  and  many  poor,  unhappy, 
friendless  sons  of  Africa  had  to  atone  for  their 
crimes,  real  or  fanciful,  at  the  stake  or  on  the 


76  T  II  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 

gibbet.  Mnny  a  heart-rending  tale  of  the  un- 
happy sulierers  could  be  told,  had  we  the  time 
to  bestow  upon  their  consideration  ;  and  many 
friendless  slaves  thus  died,  innocent  of  the 
charge.  One,  poor  Quack,  who  belonoed  to  a 
Mr.  Rosevelt,  was  burnt,  on  charge  of  setting 
fire  to  the  Chapel.  Another,  by  the  name  of 
Cvjfee,  was  condenmed  to  die  on  the  same  day, 
on  charge  of  being  a  ringleader  in  the  conspi- 
racy. Both  persisted  in  proclaiming  their  in- 
nocence, even  when  assured  they  must  inevita- 
bly die.  But  on  Saturday,  May  30th,  1741, 
both  suffered  a  dreadful  and  cruel  death,  being 
burnt  at  the  slake.  The  Recorder  of  the  city 
in  that  year  says:  "The  criminals  showed 
great  terror  in  their  countenances,  and  looked 
as  if  they  would  have  gladly  discovered  all  they 
knew  of  this  accursed  scheme,  could  they  have 
had  any  encouragement  in  hope  of  pardon." 
But  no  !  there  was  no  hope  of  pardon  ;  and  the 
poor  negfroes  could  do  nothing  more  than  to 
continu.iUy  repeat  the  fruitless  protestations  of 
their  innocence. 

John.  Were  these  all  that  were  executed, 
sir? 

Uncle.  O,  no  !  Would  that  I  could  answer 
you  in  the  affiriTiative.  There  were  executed, 
in  all,  of  white  persons,  /owy  ;  and  of  negroes, 
twfi/rc  were  burnt  at  the  stake,  and  fourteen 
were  hanged. 

Henry.  And     is    the    spot     known,    where 


OF    NEW-YORK.  77 

these  dreadful  orgies  in  honour  of  the  spirit  of 
slavery  were  performed  i 

Uncle.  Yes,  the  spot  is  known,  and  I  can 
clearly  point  it  out  to  you  on  the  map  of  the  city. 
It  was  on  a  rise  of  ground,  near  what  was  called 
"Potbaker's  Hill,"  and  is  now  to  be  found  in 
the  middle  of  the  block  bounded  by  Duane, 
Chatham  and  Pearl  streets,  and  City-hall  place. 
"  City-hail  place,"  you  know  is  a  new  name  for 
"  Augustus-street ;"  and  in  those  days,  Duane- 
street,  was  known  as  Barley-street.  That  spot 
is  now  consecrated  to  nohl.-r  service,  being  about 
the  site  of  the  present  Chatham-street  Chapel. 
What  a  change  time  has  wrought !  Slavery  no 
longer  shows  its  hydra  head  in  the  midst  of  us. 
The  year  of  1799,  which  knocked  off  their 
manacles,  was  a  blessed  day  to  the  Africans  of 
New  York. 

Two  years  previous  to  this  memorable  year, 
in  1797,  the  number  of  Africans,  bond  or  free, 
in  communion   with  the  different  churches  in 
the  city,  was  as  follows  : — 
In  the  Dutch  Church,  nine  members. 

Presbyterian  Church,  twelve  members. 

Episcopal  Church,  one  hundred  and  fifty 

members. 

Methodist    ( 'hurch,    one    hundred   and 

forty  membr'r.s. 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church,  one  mem- 
ber. 
German  Lutheran  Church,  two  members. 


78  T  H  K    C  II  U  R  C  II  K  S 

In  Mr.  Pilmore's,   Christ,  Church,  ten  mem- 
bers. 
-  Independent  Church,  five  members. 
Moravian  Church,  two  members. 

The  Avhole  number  of  coloured  people  in  the 
city  in  1797,  was  about  two  thousand.  Since 
that  time  they  have  greatly  increased.  Of 
their  situation  as  citizens,  and  their  condition  as 
Christians,  we  may,  perhaps,  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  conversing  at  some  future  time. 

Henry.  Where  were  these  poor  executed 
Africans  buried,  sir? 

Uncle.  Those  that  were  executed  at  the  stake, 
needed  of  course  no  grave  to  enclose  their  burnt 
bodies ;  their  ashes  were  blown  about  by  the 
winds,  and  had  no  sepulchre  but  the  wide  world. 
Those  that  were  hung,  were  probably  buried 
near  where  Chambers-street  crosses  from  Broad- 
way to  City-Hall  Place ;  as  the  "  Negro  Bury- 
ing Ground"  was  long  known  on  the  north  side 
of  a  hill,  sloping  down  from  the  Bridewell  to- 
wards Barley,  now  Duane,  street. 

This  suspected  conspiracy  on  the  part  of  the 
negroes,  was  considered  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city  as  a  great  calamity,  as  well  it  might, 
had  it  been  real;  and  on  the  occasion  a  day  of 
public  fasting  and  prayer  was  observed.  Here 
is  a  short  notice  of  it,  given  by  the  recorder  of 
the  city,  Mr.  Horsemauden,  in  his  account  of 
the  conspiracy.  You  may  read  it,  Henry,  as 
it  will  give  us  some  acquaintance  with  the  man- 


OF    NEW- YORK,  79 

ner  in  which  such  clays  were  kept  in  our  city  a 
hundred  years  ago. 

Henry.  "Wednesday,  13th  of  May,  1741.  This 
being  the  day  appointed  by  the  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor's proclamation,  issued  the  10th  of  April 
last,  to  be  observed  throughout  the  province  as 
a  day  of  public  fasting  and  humiliation;  the 
same  was  reverently  and  decently  observed, 
particularly  in  this  city,  by  persons  of  all  per- 
suasions; the  shops  were  all  shut  up,  and  per- 
sons of  all  ranks  resorted  to  their  respective 
places  of  divine  worship,  and  seemed  deeply 
affected  with  a  sense  of  the  calamities  with 
which  we  had  of  late  been  visited." 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

THE  PRIMITIVE   INDIAN    IN  n.\niTANTS  OF  OUR 
ISLAND. 

John.  You  promi.sf'd  U3,  I  think,  sir,  at  some 
future  timf,  a  history  of  the  poor  Indians,  that 
once  inhabited  this  island,  where  we  now  live 
80  Ivippily.     I  hope  that  time  has  now  arrived. 

Henri/.  Yt"S,  uncle,  we  are  both  anxious  to 
hear  thr-  story  of  the  red  man. 

Uncle  1  am  perfectly  willing  that  your 
7 


80  T  H  E  c  11  u  R  c  n  E  s 

wish,  in  this  respect,  should  be  my  law ;  and, 
in  conformity  to  this,  before  we  touch  the  par- 
ticular history  of  the  difl'erent  churches,  we 
will  turn  back  a  step,  and  inquire  somewhat 
concerning  the  condition  in  which  the  Indians, 
the  primitive  inhabitants  and  owners  of  the 
country,  were  found  by  the  Dutch  navigators 
and  settlers.  Nor  will  we  consider  it  any  in- 
terruption of  our  church  history,  but  as  forming 
a  regular  part  of  our  general  introductory  nar- 
ration. 

Hennj.  And  I  think  it  is  but  right,  sir,  that 
we  should  take  a  glance  at  the  history  of  the 
poor  Indians;  who  have  been  obliged  to  retreat 
before  the  gradual  encroachments  of  the  white 
man,  until  they  are  no  longer  to  be  seen  cast  of 
•the  Alleghanies. 

Uncle.  Yes,  they  have  long  disappeared 
from  these  their  former  haunts  and  homes, 
where  they  used  to  hunt  their  deer,  light  their 
council  fire,  and  dance  their  war-dance,  with 
no  fearful  apprehension  of  white  intruders,  or 
European  tyrants,  who  should  drive  them  west 
of  the  mountains,  and  finally  force  them  into 
the  regions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  for  secu- 
rity and  rest.  In  the  pleasant  Avaters  that  sur- 
round our  city,  they  used  to  row  their  light 
skiffs,  and  fish,  undisturbed  by  the  approach  of 
strangers.  Here  they  used  to  live,  and  roam 
through  forests  dark  and  deep,  and  in  the  sim- 
plicity of  their  hearts,  worshipped  the  Great 


OF    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  . 


Spirit,  whom  they  considered  the  God  of  Na- 
ture. To  him  they  erected  sacrificial  ahars, 
where  now  the  never-ceasing  hum  of  a  busy 
and  thriving  city  marks  the  abode  of  civilized 
man.  And  a  special  interest  should  be  felt  by 
us,  in  the  history  of  those  much  abused  people, 
whom  the  first  navigators  found  in  quiet  pos- 
session of  this  island,  and  who,  but  two  short 
centuries  ago,  were  the  sole  and  unrivalled 
owners  of  the  soil. 

John.  I  have  heard  that  they  were  the  Man- 
hatloes,  sir. 

Uacle.  They  have  been  sometimes  called  so, 
I  know,  Tiiere  has  been  heretofore  some  dis- 
pute and  much  doubt,  concerning  their  identity 
with  the  other  tribes  that  were  found  in  the  sur- 
rounding country :  and  even  their  name  was 
for  a  longtime  undetermined.  Some  have  sup- 
posed them  to  have  been  of  the  Miagocs,  or  a 
part  of  the  Five  Nations;  and  others  have 
made  them  to  bo  a  distinct  tribe,  under  the  name 
of  Man/iattocs,  as  you  mentioned,  or  Manhat- 
tanoes,  both  of  which  propositions  are  doubtless 
fal-se.  By  the  researches  of  the  Rev.  John 
Heckcwelder,  a  Moravian  missionary  of  much 
note,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
among  the  Indians,  and  probably  had  more 
means  for  such  information  than  any  other  man 
thr-n  living  in  the  United  States,  it  is  satisfacto- 
rily ascerlainrd,  that  the  Indians  of  Manhattan 
Island  were  of  the  powerful  tribe  of  the  Dela* 


82  TUECHURCHE3 

wares ;  but  they  had  a  provincial  name,  which 
was  Monsp.ys,  or  Miiisi,  as  they  called  them- 
selves; whichword  sigiiilied.in  their  language, 
a  peninsula. 

Joli.n.  But  was  not  the  island  forrnerly  called 
Man'iadoes? 

Uncle.  It  was.  But  the  name  Manhattoes, 
of  the  primitive  inhabitants,  or  Manhattans,  as 
you  will  see,  had  a  different  origin.  That  the 
New-York  Indians,  or  the  Minsi,  were  of  the 
tribe  of  the  Delawares,  there  can  now  be  but 
little  doubt ;  as  the  descendants  of  that  tribe, 
among  whom  Mr.  Heckewelder  was  for  many 
years  a  missionary,  were,  fifty  years  ago,  per- 
fectly familiar  with  the  history  of  Manhattan, 
now  New- York.  They  always  spoke  of  it  as 
Manhattans,  and  Manhattanink,  which  means, 
in  their  language,  the  same  as  the  island  or  place 
of  general  intoxicaiion,  from  a  general  intoxica- 
tion of  the  natives,  said  to  have  taken  place  upon 
the  first  arrival  of  the  Europeans;  as  we  shall 
see. 

The  Delawares  were  the  most  powerful  and 
extensive  tribe  of  Indians  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  always  prided  themselves  in  never 
having  been  conquered  by  the  sword  of  other 
nations.  Their  possessions  extended  from  Man- 
hattan Island,  south  almost  to  the  Potomac,  and 
inland  as  far  as  or  beyond  the  river  which  now 
bears  their  name. 

Henry.  Whence  came  the  opinion,  sir,  that 
they  were  IMingoes? 


OF    NEW-YORK.  83 

Uncle.  The  opinion  that  the  primitive  Man- 
hattans were  Mingoes  might  have  arisen  from 
the  fact,  that  the  Indians  who  were  known  here 
for  many  years  after  the  settlement,  and  those 
who  came  in  here  to  trade  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  were  Mingoes.  But  this  is  no  evidence 
of  their  having  been  the  primitive  owners  of  the 
soil.  The  Mingoes  and  Delawares  were  always 
inimical  to  each  other.  But  the  Delawares 
were  always  able  to  maintain  their  sovereignty, 
and  to  keep  possession  of  their  lands,  until  the 
white  man  came;  when  they  were  obliged  to 
flee  from  the  united  forces  of  the  whites  and 
Mingoes,  who  had  become  friends,  in  order  to 
possess  themselves  of  the  lands  of  the  Delawares. 
The  Delawares  then  retreated  south  and  west, 
but  the  mingoes  dwelt  for  many  years  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  State  of  New-York.  With  these 
the  old  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  quite  familiar, 
and  always  showed  them  great  hospitality. 

John.  I  suppose,  of  course,  that  the  great  en- 
gine of  the  destruction  of  the  Manhattans,  was 
fire-water. 

Uncle.  As  was  the  case  with  the  other  tribes, 
so  with  the  Delawares.  After  they  had  once 
tasted,  they  became  exceedingly  fond  of  ardent 
spirits,  ox  fire-water,  as  they  appropriately  called 
it.  They  wore  ignorant  of  the  ruinous  conse- 
quences of  intemperance  upon  the  health  and 
constitution,  until  they  found  out  the  truth  by 
7* 


84  THECHURCHES 

sad,  sad  experience.     Then  their  habits  were 
too  strong  to  be  easily  broken. 

I  make  these  remarks  in  reference  to  the  ac- 
count given  us  by  Mr.  Heckewelder,  of  the  first 
arrival  of  the  Europeans  at  this  island,  which  I 
will  leave  you  to  read.  In  it  you  will  find  the 
account  which  the  Indians  th*  mselvc  s  give  of 
that  event.  The  pompous  landing  of  the  white 
man;  the  first  experiment  o^  Jire-waler  upon 
the  natives;  their  mutual  barter;  and  the  pro- 
mise of  the  European  strangers  to  return  again 
the  next  year,  you  will  find  fully  described. 


CHAPTER  NINTH. 

INDIANS — CONTINUED. 

Uncle.  Mr.  Heckewelder's  account  of  the 
first  arrival  of  the  Europeans  at  this  island,  to 
which  I  have  referred  you,  is  of  great  import- 
ance, as  regards  our  knowledge  of  tlie  primitive 
Maniiattans.     Here  is  an  extract  from  it. 

Henry.  "After  this  general  intoxication  had 
ceased,  (during  which  the  strangers  had  con- 
fined thems'dves  to  the  vessel,)  the  red  clothed 
man  came  ashore  again,  and  distributed  presents 
among  the  Indians,  such  as  beads,  axes,  hoes, 


OF    NEW- YORK.  85 

Stockings,  &c.  ;  and  made  them  understand,  by- 
signs,  that  he  would  see  them  again  next  year, 
when  they   would   bring  them  more  presents, 
and  stay  u  ith  them  awhile  ;  but  that  as  his  men 
could  not  live  without  eating,  they  should  want 
a  little  land  of  them,  where  to  sow  seeds,  and 
raise  herbs.     The  vessel  arrived  the  season  fol- 
lowing, and  they  were  much  rejoiced  at  seeing 
each  other;  but  that  the  whites  laughed  at  the 
Indians,  seeing  that  they  knew  not  the  use  of 
ihe  axes,  hoes,  &c.,  which   they  had  given  to 
them ;    they  having   hung  the  axes  and  hoes 
(with  no  handles)  about  their  breasts,  as  orna- 
ments; and  the  stockings  they  had  made  use  of 
as  tobacco-pouchi  s.     The  whites  now  put  han- 
dles in  the  hoes  and  axes,  and  dug  in  the  ground, 
and  cut  down  trees,  and  showed   them  the  use 
of  the  stockings.     Here  (say  they)  a   general 
laughter  ensued  among  the  Indians,  seeing  that 
they  had   remained  for  so  long  a  time  ignorant 
of  the  use  of  so  valuable  instruments." 

Uncle.  Such  i.s  Mr.  Heckewelder's  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  name  Manhallnn.  The 
Mihicanni,  (calbd  by  the  English  INlohigans, 
and  by  the  Dutch  Mihicanders,)  'awe  the  same 
name  to  this  island,  but  derived  its  meaning 
from  a  difPjrent  source, — from  sdrne  wood  which 
grew  lu.Tf. 

John.  But  was  there  no  other  name  for  the 
island? 

VacU.  The  Mon.seys,  or  Minsi,  who  used 
to  live  here,  sometimes  called  it  Laaphawah- 


86  THE    CHURCHES 

king,  which  is  interpreted,  the  place  ofslringing 
beads  or  wampum.  They  say  this  name  was 
given  in  consequence  of  beads  being  distributed 
among;  them  abundantly  by  the  Europeans;  so 
that  after  the  European  vessel  had  returned, 
wherever  one  looked,  he  would  see  the  Indians 
employed  in  stringing  together  the  beads,  or 
wampum,  the  whites  had  given  them. 

Henry.  The  Europeans,  I  believe,  made  it 
a  custom,  wherever  they  landed,  to  propitiate 
the  Indians  with  strong  drink;  did  they  not? 

Uncle.  Yes,  they  did.  And  so  it  is  recorded 
by  Robert  Juet,  who  wrote  a  journal  of  Hud- 
son's voyage  up  the  river  which  bears  his  name, 
that  "  Sept.  21st,  1G09,  some  people  came  aboard 
the  ship  above  the  Highlands,  whom  Hudson 
and  his  company  made  drunk.  We  astonished 
the  Indians,  and  filled  them  with  fear." 

'J'he  Europeans,  it  seems,  were  too  jealous 
of  their  own  interests  to  warn  them  against  the 
use  of  it;  as  they  found  they  could  always  ef- 
fect better  bargains  with  them  after  having 
made  a  free  distribution  oi fire-water.  The  la- 
mentable consequence  of  this  was,  that  the  In- 
dians were  universally  given  to  intoxication, 
whenever  they  could  procure  their  much-loved 
whiskey;  with  which,  provided  compensation 
was  given,  the  whites  appear  to  have  been  al- 
ways ready  to  furnish  them.  Such  easy  access 
to  the  fire-water,  brought  things  to  a  dreadful 
pass  in  the  condition  of  the  poor  Indians ;  and 


OF    NEW-YORK.  87 

as  they  were  unable  to  resist  the  least  tempta- 
tion of  the  kind  otreied  to  them,  it  laid  them 
open  to  all  sorts  of  impositions  and  cruelties. 

But  a  salutary  law  was  passed  by  Governor 
Andros  and  the  Council,  July  9th,  1676,  which 
served  to  protect  the  Indians,  to  some  degree, 
from  such  great  cruelties.  The  law  was  to 
this  effect;  that,  if  an  Indian  was  seen  coming 
out  of  a  house  drunk,  that  would  be  sufficient 
ground  of  evidence  against  the  house,  for  the 
conviction  of  its  owners;  and  tliat,  if  an  Indian 
was  seen  drunk  in  the  street,  the  house  where 
he  procured  the  liquor  being  unknown,  then 
the  whole  .street  should  be  fined.  This  of  course 
reflects  much  honour  upon  the  Governor  and 
Council  of  1070. 

HeHTij.  Governor  Clinton,  also,  I  believe, 
in  July,  1753,  issued  a  proclamation,  prohibiting 
the  sale  of  ardent  spirits  to  the  Indians ;  a  vio- 
lation of  which  order  was  to  be  punished  with 
the  utmost  rigour  of  the  law. 

John.  But  what  was  worse  than  all  this,  I 
have  heard,  that  some  of  the  Indians  were  slaves 
to  the  whites.     Was  it  so  ? 

Unrle.  Yes,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  it  cannot  be 
denied.  It  is  a  shameful  7'ac<,  for  we  find  it  on 
record,  that  many  of  the  native  Indians — lords 
of  the  soil,  were  made  to  be  slaves  ;  and  I 
could  refer  you  to  many  instances,  in  the  public 
papers,  where  rewards  arc  offered  for  them  as 
runaways  from  their  luaslers. 


THE    CHURCHES 


This  slavery  of  the  Indians  may  be  accounted 
for  in  the  following'  manner: — children  were 
taken  as  pledijcs  from  the  Indians  for  debts; 
the  Indians,  failing  to  liquidate  the  debts,  failed 
also  to  redeem  their  children,  who  consequently 
grew  up  slaves.  This  we  know  to  have  been 
frequently  the  case ;  as  we  find  that  Governor 
Clinton,  in  1750,  issued  a  proclamation,  forbid- 
ding "his  Mnjesty's  subjects,  in  the  County  of 
Albany,  to  take  any  Indian  children  as  pledges 
for  debts  from  the  Indians;  which  has  been 
represented  as  a  practice  too  common  among 
them."  Thus  were  they  ill-treated  on  every 
hand. 

John.  But  now  the  poor  Indians  are  all 
gone! 

Uncle.  Yes,  the  Indian  Aborigines  of  New- 
York,  have  all  disappeared  !  The  dying  em- 
bers of  their  last  council-fire  have  long  since 
gone  out.  No  war-whoop  for  the  last  half 
century  has  been  heard  among  our  hills,  or  re- 
verberated along  our  verdant  plains.  And 
their  descendants  are  now  no  longer  seen  among 
us,  except  with  the  silence  and  reserve  of 
strangers,  visiting,  as  for  the  last  time,  the  graves 
of  their  forefathers. 

The  Minsi,  or  the  real  Manhattans,  could 
not  brook  the  ill-treatment  they  received  from 
the  white  man,  and  fled  westward  from  his  ty- 
ranny, to  roam  in  freedom  over  the  sweet  val- 
leys and  verdant  hills  of  Pennsylvania,     But 


OF    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  . 


89 


the  Mingoes,  for  a  long-  time  continued  to  dwell 
along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mo- 
hawk. Before  they  were  driven  too  far  north- 
ward, they  were  in  the  habit  of  making  regular 
visits  to  the  city,  at  particular  seasons  of  the 
year,  bringing  with  them  their  peltry,  brooms, 
wooden-trays,  baskets,  &c.,  to  dispose  of  to  the 
citizens.  On  such  visits,  they  had  particular 
favourite  spots  for  their  encampments.  And 
one  of  these  spots  was  about  an  old  windmill, 
which  stood  not  far  from  Broadway,  between 
Courtlandt-street  and  Croicn-slTcet,  as  Liberty- 
street  was  then  called.  And  there  they  have 
been  encamped,  as  late  as  the  year  1740;  less 
than  a  hundred  years  ago. 

The  last  visit  that  the  Indians  paid,  in  a  body, 
to  the  city,  was  in  the  year  174G.  Several 
hundred  of  them  then  appeared  to  hold  a  con- 
ference with  the  British  Governor,  George 
Clinton.  They  came  down  the  Hudson  river 
in  their  canoes,  and  landed  where  St.  John's 
Park  now  is,  whose  side  on  Hudson-street  then 
formed  the  river's  brink.  Thence  they  marched 
in  Indian  file  down  Broadway,  to  the  governor's 
house,  at  Fort  George.  They  made  a  great 
display  in  their  marches  up  ancl  down  the  wide 
street;  and  this  is  remembered  as  the  last  time 
they  came  for  the  purpose  of  making  treaties. 
They  were,  as  usual,  presented  with  many  gifts 
by  the  governor  and  citizens. 


90  T II  E    CHURCHES 

Himry.  Can  yon  tell  us  anything  else  of  the 
Manhattans,  sir? 

Uncle.  The  Manhattans,  I  said,  were  of  the 
Deiawares;  and  of  the  Delawares  I  can  tell 
you  the  following: — Like  the  Mohicans  and 
others,  they  were  divided  into  three  tribes,  viz. 
the  TurUe,  the  Tarkeij,  and  the  Wolf.  The 
Turtle  was  considered  the  greatest  or  head  of 
the  three ;  because  of  his  being  able  to  live  both 
on  land  and  in  water ;  and  on  account  of  the 
great  number  of  eggs  that  the  female  turtle  lays. 
The  Delawares  were  very  numerous,  and  were 
spread  over  a  great  extent  of  country,  from 
Manhattan  Island  southward.  They  had  a 
great  many  branches  and  small  tribe.?,  that  took 
provincial  names;  as  the  Monscys, or  Minsi,  of 
Manhattan.  There  was  also  another  of  these 
branch  tribes,  that  resided  about  Manhattan 
Island,  called  the  Unami ;  and  one  of  their 
great  chiefs,  of  the  Turtle  tribe,  dwelt  at  Am- 
boy,  (across  the  New  Jersey  Bay,)  where  the 
Europeans  first  arrived. 

But  the  poor,  ill-treated  red  men,  have  at 
length  all  disappeared  from  our  midst.  Their 
bones  and  their  aslies  mingled  with  the  soil,  are 
all  that  now  remain  of  them  on  our  island. 
Their  graves,  it  is  said,  were  not  unfrequrntly 
cut  into  by  the  workmen,  while  digging  down 
the  hills  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  city,  on  the 
Stuyvesant  lands.  They  were  known  by  the 
quantities  of  oyster  shells  which  had  been  inter- 


OFNEW-YORK.  91 

red  with  the  bodies.  Some  frail  fragments  of 
pottery  were  also  found.  These  were  the  last 
relics  of  the  noble  race  of  the  Manhattans. 
Such  is  the  short  history  of  the  primitive  in- 
habitants of  our  island  :  and  thus  have  they  all 
disappeared.  And  we  can  but  mourn  over 
their  fate.  Instead  of  beinc:  taught  by  the  white 
man  in  the  ways  of  Christianity,  to  pray — and 
read  God's  holy  will,  and  to  prepare  for  a  hea- 
ven in  another  world,  far  more  blessed  than 
their  imaginary  land  of  never-failing  hunting 
grounds,  they  were  taught  to  love  whiskey, 
steal,  swear,  and  fight,  and  instructed  in  the 
ways  of  wickedness  and  deceit. 


CHAPTER  TENTH. 

THE    CHURCH    IN    THE  FORT. 

Uncle.  You  will  rccollert  that  I  told  you, 
that  the  first  church  ever  built  in  the  city,  stood 
within  the  walls  of  the  old  fort,  a  few  rods 
southwest  of  what  we  now  call  the  Bowling- 
Green. 

John.   It  was  built  in  1642,  I  think. 

Uacte.  Yes ;  and  although  some  have  sup- 
posed there  to  have  been  another,  prior  to  this, 
8 


92  T  H  K    C  U  U  R  C  H  E  8 

even  so  early  as  the  year  IGoO;  still,  as  there 
is  no  direct  historical  information  concorning 
such  a  building-,  we  will  consider  the  year  1642 
as  the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  first  church 
within  the  bounds  of  our  city,  for  the  public 
worship  of  Jehovah.  Ti)is  was  completed  in 
Governor  Kieft's  time  ;  and  by  some  is  said  to 
have  enclosed  the  prior  one,  which  a  vague 
and  uncertain  tradition  has  handed  down  as 
having  been  of  frail  materials,  and  standing  on 
the  same  spot.  An  organized  church  was  un- 
doubtedly in  existence  before  1G42;  but  some 
room  within  the  fort,  perhaps,  would  have  been 
sufficiently  large  for  their  accommodation. 
About  this  first  church,  at  this  day,  little  is 
known.  There  has  no  description  of  the  build- 
ing come  down  to  us.  It  was  undoubtedly 
built  in  the  old  Dutch  style  of  architecture ; 
and  though  it  might  seem  uncouth  now-a-days, 
it  then  answered  every  conceivable  or  desirable 
purpose  for  a  church,  in  the  eyes  of  those  who 
built  it. 

A  Mr.  Van  dcr  Donk,  who  lived  in  New  Neth- 
erlands about  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  first 
church,  and  wrote  a  short  history  of  his  own 
times,  has  handed  down  to  us  a  map  of  the  city 
as  it  appeared  then,  in  which  the  roof  and  cupola 
of  the  old  church  in  the  fort  is  visible  above  the 
rest  of  the  buildings. 

Henry.  Had  it  a  Steeple,  sir  ? 

U7icle.  I  presume  not,  if  by  a  steeple  you 


OF    N  E  \V  -  Y  0  R  K . 


93 


mean  a  spire.  Some  sort  of  a  cupola  it  doubtless 
had,  according  to  Mr.  Van  der  Donk,  as  we  find 
it  was  furnished  with  a  b-jU.  This  was  the 
common  alarm  bell  of  the  city,  and  was  rung  on 
all  such  occasions  as  fires,  insurrections,  appre- 
hensions of  an  attack  from  an  enemy,  &c.  It 
was  also  rung  on  some  other  occasions,  of  which 
the  following  will  give  you  an  example.  It  is 
noticed  on  the  city  records,  that  for  slandering 
the  Rev.  Everard  Bogardus,  first  pastor  of  the 
church  in  the  foTt,a.  feviale  is  obliged  to  appear, 
at  the  soi'nd  of  the  bell  at  the  fort,  there,  before 
the  Governor  and  Council,  to  say  "  she  knew 
he  was   honest  and   pious,  and   that  she   lied 

falselv." 

John.  Slander  was  a  crime  then  as  well  as 

now  it  appears. 

Uncle.  Yes ;  and  the  penalty  was  a  fine,  to 
be  paid  in  money,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor. 

Henry.  A  very  good  plan,  1  think  ;  and  if  it 
were  in  force  now,  the  poor  might  be  very  well 
oflf. 

Unde.  Perhaps  so.  But  this  incident  shows 
us   how  early  the  bell  was   in  uso  at  the  fort. 

The  church,  or  chafel  as  if  is  called,  stood  ad- 
joining the  Governor's  hous",  and  the  vaults  be- 
neath it  became  the  burial  place  cf  some  of  the 

Dutch  and  English  governors,  I  suppose  it  took 
the  name  of  "  King's  Chapel"  soon  after  it  camo 

into  the  hands  of  the  English,  which  it  ever  aftei 

retained. 


94 


THE    C  H  U  11  C  H  E  S 


JoJm.  How  long,  did  this    original    chapel 
stand?  OF 

Uncle.  It  stood  unaltered,  as  the  Dutch  built, 
till  the  year  1691,  when  it  was  remodelled,  and 
perhaps  the  superstructure  entirely  taken  down 
and  rebuilt.  It  then  remained  till  the  year  1741, 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  at  the  time  of  the 
famous  Negro  Plot,  of  which  I  have  told  you. 
Henry.  1  remember,  sir :  it  was  the  first  of 
the  alarming  fires. 

Uncle.    Yes;   and  it  undoubtedly  took  fire  by 
accident,  although  the  poor  negroes  had  to  suf- 
fer all  the  opprobrium  of  the  supposed  deed,  and, 
what  is  worse,  the  dreadful  effects  of  such  a  sus- 
picion.     Tb^  true  and  plain  account  of  the  fire 
appears  to  be  this,  as  was  presented  to  the  court 
at  the  time  of  the  trial  of  llie  accused  incendiaries: 
On  the  same  morning  of  the  fire,  the  Lieutenant 
Governor  ordered  a  plumber  to  mend  a  leak  in 
the  gutter,  between  the  house  and  the  chapel, 
which  joined;  and  the  man  carrying  his  fire-pot 
with  coals,  to  keep  his  soldering  iron  hot.  some 
sparks  were  probably  blown,  and  lodging  on  the 
shingles  of  the  roof,  thus  caused  the  fire.     This 
was  on  thn  morning  of  Wednesday,  March  18th, 
1741  ;  and  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  fire  broke  out  on  the  roof  of  the  government 
house,  about  20  f(,>et  from  the  end  ne.xt  to  the 
chapel.     Upon  the  chapel's  bell  ringing,  great 
numbers  of  people  flocked  thither  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  his  family, 
and  succeeded  in  removing  their  personal  and 


O  F    N  E  \V  -  Y  O  R  IT .  95 

household  furniture,  and  in  saving  most  of  the 
valuable  papers  and  records  of  the  colonv  from 
destruction.  But  unfortunately,  at  the  time,  a 
violent  gale  was  blowing  from  the  southeast, 
which  rendered  the  flames  so  raging  and  heat 
so  intense,  that  the  fire  engines  were  of  compara- 
tively little  use;  and  the  buildings  were  left  ex- 
posed to  the  fury  of  the  merciless  element,  which 
soon  reduced  them  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  Active 
measures,  also,  had  to  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
flames  from  spreading  into  the  city  around. 
Thus  perished  the  King's  Chapel,  which  was 
the  oldest  place  of  worship  in  the  city  of  New- 
York. 

In  its  vaults  were  interred  the  remains  of 
several  of  the  governors  who  had  deceased 
while  here,  and  wliich  were  afterwards,  in  the 
year  1797,  removed  to  other  burying  grounds. 
In  that  year,  whicii  you  know  was  after  the 
American  Revolution,  the  whole  of  Fort  George 
was  razed,  and  the  bill  upon  which  it  stood  cut 
down  to  the  level  of  the  surrounding  streets,  to 
make  room  for  the  house  of  the  Governor  of  the 
state  of  New- York. 

Jokn.  Did  the  Dutch  clergymen  continue  to 
officiate  in  the  chapel  until  its  final  destruction 
in  1741  ? 

TncU.  No.  They  took  their  li\-ivc  of  the 
fort,  as  the  officiating  ch;ipl:ui)s,  in  the  year 
169 1, when  the  primitive  church  of  St.  Nicholas, 
as  one  of  our  historians  has  called  it,  was  taken 


96  THECIIURCUES 

down,  to  make  room  for  the  English  edifice. 
In  this  year  they  got  their  license  to  build  the 
old  Dutch  church  in  Garden-street,  where  the 
Dutch  congregation  afterwards  assembled. 
After  that  year,  until  the  fire  of  1741  destroyed 
it,  the  chapel  of  the  fort  was  under  the  special 
care  of  chaplains  from  the  Church  of  England. 
About  the  English  chaplains  very  little  is 
known,  except  merely  the  names  of  some  of 
them.  The  first  one  that  I  find  mentioned, 
after  the  erection  of  King's  Chapel,  in  1691, 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  old  Dutch  chapel, 
■was  John  Millar,  who  was  appointed  minister 
and  cliaplain  to  the  two  companies  of  foot  sol- 
diers, then  stationed  in  New-York.  In  1701, 
his  successor  was  Rev.  Mr.  Brisac  ;  and  in  1737, 
Rev.  Mr.  Orone.  There  were  many  others  in 
the  same  capacity,  but  about  whom  we  find 
nothing  of  interest  to  relate. 

Henry.  Who  were  some  of  the  Dutch  cler- 
gymen, sir,  besides  the  Rev.  Evei"ard  Bogardus, 
whom  you  mentioned  as  the  first  pastor? 

Uncle.  Mr.  Bogardus,  dying  in  the  y'ear 
1647,  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  and 
Samuel  Megapolensis,  two  brothers,  who  were 
known  here  as  rarly  as  the  year  1644.  The 
Rev.  Samuel  Megiipolcnsis  survived  his  brother, 
and  being  a  regular  physician,  both  practiced 
and  preached,  in  and  about  the  city,  until  the 
year  1669,  when  it  is  said  that  he  returned  to 
Europe.  lie  appears  to  have  been  liked  by  the 
people;  so  much  so,  that  it  is  on  record,  that  a 


OF    NEW-YORK.  97 

Mr.  Hagerman,  and  others  in  the  congregation, 
built  him  a  commodious  dwelling-house,  at 
their  own  private  expense.  Mr.  Megapok-nsis 
preached  in  the  fort  before  and  after  the  sur- 
render of  1664.  It  is  stated  that  he  wrote  and 
published  a  pamphlet,  giving  an  interesting 
account  of  the  country  in  those  early  days, 
and  of  the  Mahakuase  tribe  of  Indians.  Be- 
fore Mr.  Megapolensis  left,  there  was  associated 
with  him.  in  the  ministry,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Drisius,  about  whom  little  else  is  known,  except, 
that  he  was  dead  in  the  year  1669.  About 
this  time,  in  167U,  the  pulpit  became  vacant, 
the  elders  and  deacons  applied  to  the  Governor 
to  take  some  care  to  provide  orthodox  minis- 
ters. Accordingly,  the  CTOvcrnor  issued  his 
proclamation,  offering  1000  guilders,  and  a 
nouse  and  fire-wood,  to  any  clero-yman  of  good 
character,  who  v.ould  come  o*  r  from  Holland, 
and  take  charge  of  the  New- York  church. 

Henry.  Lord  Lovelace,  I  believe,  was  then 
Governor,  sir  ? 

Uncle.  Yes;  and  in  answer  to  his  proclama- 
tion, the  Rev.  Wiihemus  Niewenhuysen,  D.  D. 
made  his  appearance  from  Holland,  and  was 
settled  in  New- York  in  1671.  He  preached 
here  for  live  year?,  whrn  he  removal,  and  offi- 
ciated in  the  Reformed  iJutch  Church  in  Biook- 
lyn,  then  culled  Brooklaiid,  where  he  dii.d  in 
1680. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Hmricus 
Selyns,  who  was  born  and  educated  in  UolluQd, 


98  THE    CHURCHES 

uhence  he  came  to  preach  in  Brooklyn,  and 
in  Governor  Stuyvcsant's  chapel  at  the 
bouwerie,  until  1GG4,  when  he  returned  to 
Europe.  After  a  second  call,  he  finally  came 
over  and  settled  in  New- York  in  1682,  where 
he  officiated  until  his  death,  which  happened  in 
the  year  1700. 

"After  Dominic  Selyns  left  the  church  at 
the  bouiocric,  for  Holland,  it  probably  becanie 
incorporated  with  the  Church  of  New-York,  (as 
a  transfer  of  members  is  recognized  on  their 
minutes,)  whose  ministers  doubtless  officiated 
at  times  in  that  eel i fie e." 

This  brings  us  down  to  about  the  year  1693, 
and  the  erection  of  the  old  Dutch  Church,  in 
South-street,  the  first  regular  church  ever  built 
in  the  city,  about  whose  history  we  will  con- 
verse at  another  time. 


CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 

THE  REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH. 

Uncle.  Our  last  conversation  left  us,  I  be- 
lieve, at  the  destruction  of  the  old  Dutch  Chapel, 
and  the  commencement  of  the  18th  century. 

Henry.  Yes,  sir;  and  al  the  erection  of  the 


OF    N  E  W -  V  O  R  K . 


99 


Garden-Street  church,  which,  you  said,  was 
about  that  time. 

Uack.  Ves;  in  the  year  1693,  being  about 
two  years  after  the  English  had  rebuilt  the 
chapel  in  the  fort.  This  was  the  first  of  the 
regular  Dutch  churches  in  our  city;  and  was, 
in  the  words  of  the  historian  Smith,  "of  stone, 
and  ill-built,  ornamented  within  by  a  small 
organ-loit,  and  brass  branches. ' 

Ht^re  is  a  view  of  it,  as  seen  by  Mr.  David 
Grim,  in  1790. 


It  stood  for  nearly  a  century,  until  the  year 
1791,  when  it  was  burnt;  but,  being  rebuilt,  it 
stood  till  December  I6lh,    1835,  when,  as  you 


iOO  Till:    CII  U  RCIIES 

well  know,  it  Avas  again  burnt  to  the  ground, 
in  the  "  Great  Fire,"'  as  it  is  appropriately 
called. 

Jolm..   Has  it  been  built  up  again,  sir  1 

Uncle.  Yes,  but  not  on  the  old  site.  If  you 
will  walk  to  the  corner  of  Church  and  Murray 
streets,  you  will  sec  a  neat  little  church  building, 
with  an  inscription  stom;  in  the  front,  with  name, 
date,  &c.,  which  is  ail  that  now  represents  the 
eld  Garden-street  church.  When  the  church 
was  first  erected  in  Garden-street,  there  was 
much  complaint  against  the  situation,  as  being 
''too  far  out  of  lown ;"  but  now,  hardly  any 
thing  surrounds  the  old  site,  but  high,  six-story 
stores ;  and  it  is  altogether  too  far  down  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  congregation.  There 
was,  of  course,  no  Murray-street  in  those  days. 

The  next  Dutch  church  was  erected  in  1729, 
and  is  the  same  that  we  now  know  as  the 
"  Middle  Butch :"  it  was  then  spoken  of  as  the 
"New  Church."  Mr.  Smith,  the  historian, 
mentioned  above,  describes  it  as  follows  :  "  The 
New  Church  is  a  high,  heavy  edifice,  and  has 
a  very  extensive  area.  It  has  no  galleries,  and 
will  yet,  perhaps,  contain  a  thousand  or  twelve 
hundred  auditors.  The  steeple  of  this  church 
affords  a  most  beautiful  prospect,  both  of  the 
city  beneath,  and  the  surrounding  country. 

Henri/.   Has  it  been  altered  much  since  then? 

Uncle.  Not  much,  1  believe,  externally; 
though,  within,  very  materially  changed.     Mr. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  101 

Mr.  Smith  describes  it,  you  see,  as  without  gal- 
leries. But  galleries  were  erected  in  it  a  feu- 
years  after  the  time  he  wrote.  Excepting  a 
slight  injury  by  fire,  sustained  in  the  steeple  in 
the  year  174.5,  it  stood  without  farther  change 
or  accident,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Ame- 
rican revolution.  At  this  time,  the  Dutch 
clertjymen  and  most  of  the  congregations,  left 
the  city,  and  fled  to  the  towns  and  villages  in 
the  surrounding  country.  The  Dutch  congre- 
gations being  considered  in  the  light  of  enemies, 
and  opposers  to  the  interests  of  the  crown  in  the 
colonies,  their  churches  were  seized  upon,  as 
lawful  prey,  by  the  British  soldiery. 

Henry.   Did  they  use  them  as  churches? 

Uncle.  No;  but,  as  you  will  see,  for  far  dif- 
ferent purposes.  The  British,  at  the  taking  of 
New-York,  captured  a  large  number  of  the 
American  soldiers;  and  the  regular  prisons  of 
the  city  being  not  largo  enough  to  receive  them 
all,  the  Presbyterian,  French,  North,  and  Mid- 
dle Dutch  Churches,  together  with  the  old 
sugar-house,  which  still  stands  near  the  latter, 
were  metamorphosed  into  prixons.  The  Mid- 
dle Dutch  Church,  it  is  said,  had  in  it,  at  one 
time,  nearly  thr<e  thousand  American  prisoners. 
The  pews  were  all  torn  out,  and  used  as  fire- 
wood. It  was  afterwards  turned  into  a  ridinff 
school  for  the  British  cavalry,  in  which  they 
used  to  practice  themselves  in  horsemanship  ; 
riding  around,  and  teaching  their  horses  to  leap 


102  THK    CIIURCJIES 

over  sticks  raised  r.ir  the  purpose.  But  its  most 
coiniDon  use  was  liiat  oi"  a  prison  ;  and  iiiLiny  a 
poor,  honest  soldier,  and  devoted  patriot,  ended 
his  days  within  those  walls,  then  rendered  so 
dreary  and  dismal  by  the  desecrations  of  the 
British  hirelings. 

John.  The  galleries,  too,  were  then  torn 
down,  1  suppose. 

Uncle.  Yes:  for  they  probably  made  as  good 
fuel  as  the  lower  pews. 

Thus,  you  see  what  sacrilegious  hands  were 
laid  upon  our  places  of  public  worship  in  this 
city,  during  the  revolution.  But  let  us  thank 
God  that  those  troublous  times  are  passed.  Af- 
ter the  peace  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  in  1781,  the  former  inhabitants  returned 
to  the  city,  and  rebuilt  their  churches,  which 
their  enemies  had  destroyed.  In  old  pictures  of 
the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  you  will  notice  a 
small  door  on  erich  side  of  the  building,  besides 
the  main  entrances  at  the  ends ;  but,  within 
later  years,  these  huve  been  closed  up,  and  are 
now  no  longer  seen. 

Henry.  You  mentioned  the  North  Dutch 
Church;   when  was  that  built,  sir? 

Uncle.  The  first  stone  of  the  North  Dutch 
Church  was  laid  in  17G7;  and  the  building 
was  completed  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
God,  in  17G9.  The  ground  on  which  it  was 
built  was  generously  given  for  the  purpose,  by 
John   Hardenbrook,   Esq.,   after   Avhom,   also, 


OF    NEW- YORK.  103 

John-street  takes  its  name.  And  if  you  will 
visit  that  grand  and  beautiful  church,  which 
stands  at  the  corners  of  Fulton,  William,  and 
Ann  streets,  you  can  see,  over  the  puljjit,  a 
drawing  of  the  "family  coat  of  arms"  of  this 
Mr.  Hardenbrook. 

Jokn.  Did  those  streets  have  the  same  names 
in  those  days,  that  they  have  now. 

Uncle.  Ann-street  was  called  as  it  is  now, 
and  also  a  part  of  William-street.  But  there 
have  been  some  changes  since.  Fulton  was 
then  known  as  fair-street;  and  the  upper  part 
of  William-street,  above  John,  by  the  very 
curious  name  of  Horse-and-cart-strtel,  which 
arose  from  there  being  a  hotel  in  that  part  of 
the  street,  with  the  sign  of  a  horse  and  cart  be- 
fore the  door. 

John.   That  was,  indeed,  a  singular  name. 

Henri/.  And  I  think  that  there  arc  very  few 
boys  in  the  city  who  could  find  the  Dutch 
Church,  at  the  corner  of  Fair  and  Horse-and- 
cart  streets. 

Uncle.  There  have  been  many  such  changes 
in  the  names  of  the  streets  since  the  revohition. 
The  lower  part  of  William-street,  for  example, 
from  Wall-street  down,  was  formerly  called 
Smith-street.  But,  for  these  changes,  you  must 
compare  some  of  the  old  with  the  new  maps  of 
the  city.  These  three  churchts,  which  wc 
have  noticed,  were  all  connected, nnd  were  gen- 
erally spoken  of  as  "the  Associate  Church." 
9 


104  THK    CHURCHES 

So  that  ministers  who  were  called  to  cither  of 
these,  were  said  to  be  called  to  the  "Associate 
Church;"  which  appellation  is  still  in  use. 
Before  we  proceed  to  converse  of  their  clergy- 
men, I  will  just  mention,  that  it  was  formerly 
customary,  in  these  churches,  to  use,  in  taking 
up  their  collections  on  the  Sabbath,  and  other 
occasions,  black  bo.gs,  hanging  at  the  end  of 
long  handles,  with  bells  attached  to  them. 
These  would  appear  very  singular  now;  but 
we  are  assured  that  they  were  formerly  in  use. 

Jofm.  The  bells  were  to  let  people  know 
that  the  bags  were  coming,  I  suppose. 

Uncle.  Perhaps  so.  But,  John,  do  you  re- 
member who  was  the  last  Dutch  minister  that 
officiated  in  the  old  church  at  the  fort? 

John.  I  think,  sir,  that  it  was  the  Rev.  Hen- 
ricus  Selyns. 

Uncle.  Yes;  and,  as  he  survived  till  the  year 
1700,  he  was  the  first  minister  of  the  Garden- 
street  Church,  where  he  probably  officiated  for 
six  or  seven  years.  Of  some  of  these  first  pas- 
tors of  the  Dutch,  we  know  but  little  else  than 
the  date  of  their  settlement  here,  and  of  their  de- 
parture or  death.  Very  comprehensive  and 
instructive  memoirs  of  some  of  the  later  ones, 
have  been  written  and  published ;  but  I  have 
time  to  mention  to  you  little  else  than  their 
names.  Mr.  Selyn's  successor  was  the  Rev. 
G.  Dubois,  who  was  settled  here  from  1699  till 
1756.      His    first    colleague   was    the    Rev. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  105 

Henricus  Boel,  who  settled  about  the  year 
1713,  and  died  in  1754.  A  sudden  illness  car- 
ried him  off  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age,  after 
having  been  a  pastor  here  for  forlij-one  years. 
His  remains  were  interred  in  the  old  Dutch 
Church,  in  Garden-street.  He  died  esteemed 
and  lamented  by  all;  and  the  public  paper  of 
the  day  spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms. 
The  Rev.  Johannes  Ritzenia  was  settled,  as  an 
associate  pastor,  in  1744:  loft  the  city  during 
the  war,  in  1776,  and  died  in  1796.  Next  came 
the  Rev.  LambertiLS  De  Ronde,  in  1751,  who 
died,  at  Schaghticoke,  in  1705.  All  these  were 
accustomed  to  preach  entirely  in  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage. And  their  first  preacher,  in  the  Eng- 
lish  language,  was  the  Rev.  Archibald  Laidlie, 
a  native  of  Scotland,  who  seltlod  ag  one  of  the 
collegiate  pastors,  in  1764.  This  introducing 
of  the  English  language  was  much  against  the 
will  and  wishes  of  a  great  part  of  the  Dutch 
Church,  especially  the  older  members,  who 
were  very  much  attached  to  their  native  tongue. 
But  there  were  others,  who  wanted  the  Engli.sh 
language  introduced  into  the  pulpit,  and  thought 
it  absolutely  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the 
Dutch  Church,  as  it  undoubtedly  was.  And 
this  difference  of  opinion,  in  relation  to  the  lan- 
guage, occasioned  a  very  foolish  and  injurious 
commotion,  for  sometime,  in  the  Dutch  ("lunch. 
But,  on  this  controversy,  I  will  not  dwrll. 
When  you  read  the  history  of  it,  as  now  in  vu- 


106  THE    CHURCHES 

rious  ways  printed,  you  may  understand  the 
whole.  About  a  fortnight  after  his  arrival, 
April  15,  1764,  Mr.  Laidlie  preached  his  first 
sermon,  (the  first  ever  delivered  in  the  Dutch 
Church,  in  the  English  language,)  to  a  very 
crowded  and  attentive  auditory.  His  labours 
among  the  people  seemed  to  have  been  owned 
and  blessed  of  God,  and  a  revival  of  religion 
soon  commenced  in  the  church.  The  follow- 
ing anecdote  is  related  concerning  him  :  At  the 
close  of  a  prayer-meeting,  one  evening,  some 
pious,  aged  persons,  who  had  always  been  ac- 
customed to  hear  the  gospel  preached  in  Dutch, 
their  native  tongue,  gathered  around  Dr.  Laid- 
lie, and  addressed  him — "Ah,  Dominie!  we 
offered  many  an  earnest  prayer  in  Dutch  for 
your  coming  among  us;  and,  truly,  the  Lord 
has  heard  us  in  English,  and  sent  you  to  us." 
Dr.  Laidlie  died  at  Red  Hook,  in  1780.  His 
colleague  and  successor  was  the  Rev.  John  H. 
Livingston,  D.  D. ;  for  whose  history  I  must 
refer  you  to  his  very  valuable  memoirs,  written 
by  the  late  Rev.  Alexander  Gunn,  D.  D.  Dr. 
Livingston  was  settled  in  1770,  and  died  in 
182.3.  One  of  his  colleagues  was  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Lynn,  D.  D.,  who  was  pastor  from  1785 
till  1805.  His  other  colleagues  and  succes- 
sors were  as  follows:  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Kuypers, 
settled  1789,  and  died  in  1833;  the  Rev.  John 
N.  Abeel,  pastor  from  1795  till  death,  in  1812; 
the  Rev.  John  Schureman,  pastor  from  1809 


OF    NEW-YORK.  107 

till  1811;  the  Rev.  Jacob  Broadhead,  D.  D., 
settled  in  1809;  in  1813,  removed  to  Piiiladel- 
phia  till  1826,  when  he  returned,  and  settled  in 
theBroome-strcet  Church;  the  Rev.  P.  Mille- 
doler,  from  1813  till  1820— now  in  New- 
Brunswick;  the  Rev.  John  Knox,  who  is  still 
with  us ;  the  Rev.  Paschal  N.  Strong,  settled 
1816,  and  died  at  St.  Croix,  W.  I.,  April  7th, 
1825;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brownlee,  settled  in  1826; 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt,  settled  in  1827; 
bothof  whon),  together  with  Dr.  Knox,  are  still 
pastors  of  the  "Associate  Church."  Of  the 
other  Dutch  churches,  which  are  not  "asso- 
ciate,"' 3'ou,  [lenry,  may  read  this  short  account, 
which  I  have  taken  from  Mr.  Goodrich's  very 
valuable  Picture  of  New-York. 

Henry.  "The  first  church,  at  Ha;rlem,  one 
of  the  oldest  built  on  the  island,  was  a  small 
wooden  edifice,  57  by  30  feet;  a  new  building 
was  erected  in  1P25,  of  brick,  50  by  65  feet, 
with  a  handsome  spire. 

The  fiflh,  in  Herring-street,  (4reenwich,  is 
of  brick,  84  feet  by  GO,  built  in  1827."  Where 
is  Herring-street,  sir  ? 

Uncle.  It  is  now  called  Bleccker-strcct,  and 
the  church  is  on  the  corner  of  Amos.  The 
present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Marsellus. 

Ilenrii.  "  The  sixth,  North-West  Churcli, 
in  Frunklinsfreel,  80  feet  by  GO,  was  built  of 
stonf,  in  1808. 

The  seventh,  at  Harscnville,  or  Blooming- 
9» 


108  THE    CHURCHES 

dale;  size,  72  by  57  feet,  built  of  &tone  in  1814. 
Pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  Gunn." 

Uncle.  Mr.  Hunt  is  the  present  pastor  of  the 
Franklin-street  church.  Dr.  Gunn  has  since 
deceased.  He  was  much  esteemed  in  this  city, 
and  is  well  known  as  the  biographer  of  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  Livingston.     Read  on. 

Hinnj.  ''Eighth,  North-East  Church,  in 
Market  street,  is  a  handsome  stone  edifice,  of  81 
by  67  feet,  built  in  1819. 

NiiUk  in  King-street,  built  in  1826,  of 
brick,  50  by  60  feet,  with  a  spire. 

Tenth,  in  Forsyth-street,  built  in  1822,  of 
brick,  60  by  45  feet. 

Eleventh,  corner  of  Broome  and  Green 
streets,  built  in  1823,  of  brick,  80  by  60  feet. 
The  choir  in  this  church  is  very  good. 

Twelfth,  corner  of  Greene  and  Hamilton 
streets,  is  56  by  75  feet,  built,  in  1824,  of 
marble. 

Thirteenth,  in  Orchard,  between  Broome  and 
Delancy  streets,  is  of  brick,  stuccoed;  with  two 
handsome  columns  in  front,  supporting  a  neat 
pediment;  behind  the  portico  is  a  square  re- 
cess, or  vestibule,  through  which  is  the  entrance 
door:   there  are  no  galleries." 

Uncle.  To  these  you  may  add  the  one  in 
Ninth-street,  near  Broadway,  now  occupied  by 
one  of  the  Associate  Churches,  who  are  erect- 
ing an  elegant  and  substantial  building  on  La- 
fayetie-Piace,  corner  of  Fourth-street;  and  one 


OF    NEW- YORK.  109 

in  Houstoun-street,  corner  of  Forsyth,  under  the 
care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bourne. 

The  present  pastor  of  the  Market-street 
church  is  Dr.  Fern'.?,  whose  predecessor  was 
the  Rev.  \Vm.  M'Murray,  D.D.,  now  deceased. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Baldwin  officiates  in  the  church 
in  Houstoun-street,  corner  of  Greene,  and  Mr. 
Demarest  in  the  one  in  King-street. 


CHAPTER   TWELFTH. 

THE   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Unrle.  We  now  come  to  speak  of  the  esta- 
blishment and  history  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
in  New- York  city. 

John.  Is  this  older  than  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Uncle.  By  some  years.  The  established 
Church  of  Eiinrjand,  you  know,  was  Episcopal; 
and  consf:qu(;nily,  most  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ors that  were  sent  out  here,  being  friends  and 
members  of  that  church,  were  anxious  to  have 
public  worsliip  after  their  own  accustomed 
mannor.  The  Dutch,  however,  as  I  have  told 
you  before,  were  not  disturbed  in  their  use  of 
the  only  church  in  the  city,  until  the  year 


110  THE    CHURCHES 

1791,  when  King's  chape)  was  erected.  This 
served  as  a  place  of  Avorship  for  the  Episcopa- 
lians for  five  or  six  years.  When  Govornov 
Fletcher  arrived  in  1G92,  he  was  very  solici- 
tous for  the  erection  of  another  church.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  find  on  the  records  of  the  Council 
of  November  8ih,  1695,  a  resolution  for  having 
an  estimate  made  of  the  expense  of  building  a 
wooden  church,  sixty  feet  long,  and  fifty  feet 
wide.  But  their  plan  being  altered  in  1696,  a 
stone  building  was  erected  on  the  main  street 
of  the  city,  and  was  called  the  "English 
Church,'"  afterwards  known  as  the  "Trinity." 
We  now  should  say  that  the  Trinity  Church 
stood  between  Broadway  and  Lumber-street; 
but  Lumber-street,  then,  was  no  more  than  the 
bank  of  (he  Hudson  riccr,  as  you  will  see  by 
reading  this  passage  from  Mr.  Smith's  notes. 

John.  "  Trinity  Church  stands  very  pleasant' 
ly  upon  the  banks  of  Hudson  river,  and  has  a 
large  cemetry  on  each  side,  enclosed  in  the  front 
by  a  painted  paled  fence.  Before  it  a  long  walk 
is  railed  off  from  the  Broadway,  the  pleasantest 
street  of  any  in  the  whole  town." 

U/irJe.  'rhis  long  walk,  opposite  the  church, 
which  he  mentions,  was  afterwards  familiarly 
known  to  the  British  soldiers  as  "the  Mall." 
The  building  was  dedicated  to  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God  on  the  6th  of  February,  1697,  when 
divine  service  was  performed  in  it,  for  the  first 
time,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey,  rector  of  the  parish. 


OF    NEW- YORK.  Ill 

Mr.  "Vesey  was  the  first  regular  clergyman  sent 
over  here  as  "  rector."  His  original  commission 
from  the  Bishop  of  London  is  still  preserved, 
and  can  be  seen  among  the  manuscript  papers 
of  the  New-Yorlc  Historical  Society,  at  their 
rooms  in  this  city.  In  the  year  1703,  the  City 
Corporation  granted  the  ground  on  which  the 
Trinity  Chinch  stood,  to  be  a  burial  place  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  forever ;"  and  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  burial  charges  were  to  go  to  the  rec- 
tor. The  original  church  was  a  small,  square 
edifice,  but  afibrded  sufficient  accommodations 
to  the  congregation,  till  the  year  1735,  when  it 
was  enlarged  by  an  addition  at  the  east  end.  In 
1737,  it  was  again  augmented  to  the  size  in 
which  it  appeared  at  the  time  of  its  destruction. 

John.  What!  was  the  Trinity  Church  destroy- 
edi 

Unrle.  Yes  ;  you  may  add  it  to  the  list  of 
churches  in  this  city  destroyed  by  that  all-de- 
vouring element,  /t re.  On  the  night  of  the  20lh 
of  September,  177G,  when  the  British  soldiery 
held  possession  of  the  city,  after  the  evacuation 
of  it  by  the  American  troop."?,  a  fire  broke  out  in 
the  neighlouihood  of  Old-Slip,  which  was  then 
a  disreputable  part  of  thf  city,  and  spread  with 
such  violrni-f  and  fearful  rapidity,  as  defied  all 
the  efTorts  of  the  inhabitants  and  soldiers  to  ar- 
rest its  progress.  It  spread  wretcrly  towards 
Broadway,  consuming  every  thing  in  its  course. 
Neither  did  this  wide  street  successfully  hinder 


112  THECHURCIIKS 

its  progress.  The  sparks  lighting  on  the  shin- 
gle rools  of  the  opposite  houses,  set  them  on  fire, 
and  thus  the  (conflagration  continued.  The 
Lutheran  Church,  which  then  stood  where 
Grace  Church  now  stands,  and  the  Trinity,  both 
fell  victims  to  the  flames.  This  dreadful  fire  of 
177G  ended  only  when  it  reached  the  College 
Green.  There  were  in  all  493  houses  consumed. 
This  fire  extended  over  more  ground  thari  any 
other  that  has  ever  occured  in  New- York.  It 
destroyed  much  less  valuable  property,  however, 
than  the  great  fire  of  1835.  The  venerable 
"Trinity,"  thus  burnt  in  1776,  was  a  very 
spacious  building,  being  146  feet  long,  including 
the  ehancel  and  tower,  72  feet  wide,  and  orna- 
mented with  a  steeple  180  feet  high.  One  of 
the  main  entrances  appears  to  have  been  on  the 
side  fronting  the  river,  and  over  it  was  an  inscrip- 
tion in  Latin,  a  translation  of  a  part  of  which 
Henry  may  read  to  us. 

IhiirTj.  "  This  temple  of  the  Trinity  was 
founded  in  the  eighth  year  of  our  most  illustrious, 
and  supreme  lord,  William  the  Tliird,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  king  of  Britain,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c.,and  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1696." 

Uncle.  Mr.  Smith,  whom  I  have  mentioned 
before,  wrote  his  History  of  New- York  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  before  tlic  great  fire, 
and  from  it  you  may  read  a  short  description 


OF    NEW-YORK.  113 

wliich  he  gives  of  the  interior  of  the  old 
Trinity. 

Jokiu  "The  church  is,  within,  ornamented 
beyond  any  other  place  of  public  worship  among 
us.  The  head  of  the  chancel  is  adorned  with 
an  altar-piece,  and  opposite  to  it  at  the  other  end 
of  the  building,  is  the  organ.  The  tops  of  the 
pillars  which  support  the  galleries  are  decked 
with  the  gih  busts  of  angels  winged.  From 
the  ceiling  are  suspended  two  glass  branches, 
and  on  the  walls  hang  the  arms  of  some  of  its 
principal  benefactors.  The  aisles  are  paved 
with  flat  stones." 

Uncle.  From  this  wc  can  get  a  very  good 
idea  of  the  internal  appearance  of  the  Trinitv, 
before  its  destruction  in  177G.  From  its  size 
and  height,  it  must  have  been  considered,  then, 
and  would  be  now,  a  noble  structure.  The 
style  of  its  architecture  was  simple;  the  win- 
dows were  arched  in  the  (iolhic  manner,  and 
the  glass  set  in  load  ;  it  was  shaded  by  lofty 
trees,  and  surrounded  on  every  side  by  the 
graves  and  monuments  of  the  dead.  Tlius  it 
must  have  prcsi.utcd  a  pleasing  and  impressive 
sight  to  the  pas.ser-by,  or  the  stranger,  before  its 
enclosure  had  been  enterea  by  the  ruthless  ty- 
rant, its  trees  withered  by  the  scorching  heat, 
its  walls  blackened  with  smoke,  and  its  tall 
steeple  had  bowed  a  victim  to  the  flames. 

Jnhv:   In  what  year  was  it  rebuilt,  sir? 

Uncle.  It  lay  in  ruins  during  the  remainder 


114  THECIIURCIIES 

of  the  war,  and  for  some  years  after  the  con- 
clusion of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and 
America ;  when  it  was  raised  again  from  its 
ashes  in  1790.  This  new  building,  you  know, 
is  the  present  Trinity  Church.  It  is  104  feet 
long,  72  wide,  and  has  a  steeple  200  feet  high. 
The  house  is  less  in  length,  but  the  steeple 
higher,  than  the  old  one. 

Henry.  Who  were  some  of  the  clergymen 
•of  this  church  ? 

Uncle.  The  Episcopal  clergymen  here,  be- 
fore the  American  war,  were  considered  as  Diis- 
sio7iaries,  and  were  sent  out  by  the  English 
Society  for  "Propagating the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,"  being  ordinarily  ordained  for  the  woik 
by  the  Bishop  of  London.  The  first  of  these 
who  officiated  in  the  Trinity  Church,  Mr.  Ve- 
sey,  wc  have  already  noticed.  He  was  rector 
from  1696  to  1746.  His  successor  was  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Henry  Barclay,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  missionary  among  the  Mohawks.  He 
came  as  rector  to  the  Trinity  Church  in  the 
year  1746,  and  remained  till  1764.  His  salary 
was  100/.  a-year,  "levied  upon  all  the  other 
clergy  and  laity  in  the  city,  by  virtue  of  an  act 
of  Assembly  procured  by  Governor  Fletcher." 
He  was  for  some  time  assisted  in  his  labours  by 
Dr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Auchmuty. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  T^uchmuty,  D.  D.,  filled 
the  rectorship  from  1764,  till  1777.  His  suc- 
cessor was  the  Rev.  Charles  Inglis,  D.  D.,  (after- 


OF    NEW-YORK.  115 

wards  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,)  from  1777  till 
1783.  Aiier  him,  again,  came  the  Right  Rev. 
Samuel  Provost,  from  1783  to  1800;  and  the 
Right  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore,  D.  D.,  from  1800 
to  1816.  Dr.  Johnson  was  the  first  President 
of  Columbia  College,  and  came  to  this  city 
from  Str.'jford,  Ct,,  in  1754. 

Henry.   In  what  year,  sir,   was   Columbia 
College  built? 

Uncle.  The  first  stone  was  laid  on  the  23d  of 
August,  175f).  Dr.  Johnson  remained  in  the 
city  until  1703,  when  he  rrturned  to  Stralford. 
Before  his  leaving,  however,  the  Episcopalians 
had  very  much  increased  ;  so  much  so  as  to  re- 
quire the  erection  of  another  church.  This  in- 
crease was  occasioned  partly  by  the  arrival  of 
emigrants  from  Europ(\  but  principally  bj*^  pro- 
selytes from  the  Dmcli  churchis.  Thi^  Dutch, 
who  h'ld  always  been  accustomed  to  preaching 
in  their  native  tongue,  were  very  loth  that  their 
minislrrsshould  preach  intheEnglish  language; 
and  by  this  m'ans  they  lost  a  great  many  fami- 
lies from  their  congregations.  The  young  peo- 
ple, especially,  were  very  averse  to  the  Dutch, 
and  fond  of  the  English  language  And  in  the 
year  175:^,  though  the  old  'i'rinity  would  con- 
tain two  thousand  hearers,  a  n(;w  church  was 
erected.  This  was  called  St.  (George's  Chapel, 
and  was  a  neat  edifice,  faced  with  brown  stone 
and  tiled. 


10 


116  THE    CHURCHES 

John.  The  saiue  that  we  now  call  by  that 
name,  in  Beekman-street,  1  suppose. 

Uncle.  It  occupied  the  same  spot,  but  is  not 
the  same  building-;  for  you  must  know  that  St. 
George's  Chapel,  too,  has  been  once  dcslroyed 
hy  fire.  About  twenty  years  ago,  it  was  burnt 
to  the  ground.  You  will  notice  that  the  pre- 
sent St.  George's  Chapel  has  a  short  steeple, 
like  a  tower.  But  the  old  one  had  a  very  lofty 
steeple,  it  being  175  feet  high.  The  spot  it  oc- 
cupied was  then  called  "  Chapel  Hill,"  and  the 
street  in  front  of  it,  Chapel-street.  The  neigh- 
bourhood about  it  was  then  a  new,  crowded, 
and  ill-built  part  of  the  city.  At  the  dedication 
of  St.  George's  Chapel,  which  did  not  take  place 
till  July  2d,  1756,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  accom.- 
panied  by  the  recorder,  aldermen,  common 
council,  and  other  distinguished  gentlemen,  and 
attended  by  fifty-two  charity  scholars,  proceed- 
ed, in  order,  from  the  City-Hall  to  the  church. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Barclay  preached  on  the  occa- 
sion, what  the  public  papers  of  the  day  speak  of 
as  an  "excellent  sermon,"  from  the  text,  "  Re- 
verence my  sanctuary^;  I  am  the  Lord;"  found 
in  Leviticus  2Gth  chap.  2d  verse.  You  may 
take  the  Bible,  John,  and  read  to  us  the  whole 
verse  in  which  it  occurs. 

Johyi.  Lev.  xxvi.  2. — "  Ye  shall  keep  my 
Sabbaths,  and  reverence  my  sanctuary :  I  am 
the  Lord." 


OF    NEV-YORK. 


117 


CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 


TUi:   F.I'ISCOPAL  CIILRCH CONTIM'KU. 


Uncle.  In  our  last  convorsatioa  about  tlie 
Trinity  Cliiircli,  I  gavo  you  some  account  of 
its  destruction,  and  of  the-  great  fire  which 
desolated  the  city  at  that  time.  Do  you 
remoinber  the  year  in  which  these  events 
happf ncd  1 

Ihary.  It  was  in  the  beginning  of  tlic  revo- 
lution, io  1776,  I  believe. 


118  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  Yos,  you  are  right.  And  since  our 
last  conversation,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Dun  lap,  who  wrote  for  us,  hist  year,  the  inter- 
esting Jittle  History  of  New-York,  I  have  been 
able  to  procure  for  you  a  view  of  tiie  Trinity 
Church,  representing  it  in  ruins  as  he  saw  it 
after  the  fire,  in  1777. 

Two  years  before,  Mr.  Dunlap  had  beheld  it 
in  all  its  beauty  ;  but  now  its  antiquated  altar, 
and  costly  chancel,  its  winged  angels,  orna- 
mented pillars,  and  high  steeple,  were  all  gone  ; 
and  nothing  but  heaps  of  broken  stones,  and 
bhickcned  walls,  were  to  be  seen.  But  to  go 
on  with  our  history. 

In  one  of  our  former  conversations,  you  will 
recollect,  I  mentioned  to  you  that  after  the 
American  revolution,  the  constitution  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  on  this  side  of 
the  waters,  was  materially  changed.  This  was 
owing  to  the  great  change  which  the  United 
States  experienced  in  her  political  relations  to 
the  mother  country.  The  members,  and  pro- 
perty holders,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  had 
been,  mo.'^tly,  the  avowed  and  open  enemies  of 
the  American  cause,  and  friends  and  defenders 
of  the  British  authorities  in  the  colonics.  Con- 
sequently, before  the  conclusion  of  peace  in 
1783,  many  of  these  fled  the  country;  and  the 
Proti  stant  Episcopal  Church  began  to  rise 
again,  on  a  new  foundation.  A  general  eccle- 
siastical convention  of- delegates,  from  all  the 


OF    NEW-YORK.  119 

States,  Jvas  held  at  New- York,  in  October,  1784, 
which,  after  proposing  a  constitution  for  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United. 
States  of  America,  adjourned  and  met  again  at 
Philadelphia,  in  1785.  At  this  convention  of 
1785,  the  proposed  constitution  was  called  up, 
and  adopted.  I  said  that  the  constitution  of  the 
church  was  materially  altered.  The  main  fea- 
ture of  this  alteration,  you  will  find  embodied  in 
the  preamble  to  the  constitution,  which  one  of 
you  may  now  read  to  us. 

John  "  Whereas,  in  the  course  of  Divine 
Providence,  the  Protrstant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America  is  become  in- 
dependent of  all  foreign  authority,  civil  and  ec- 
clesiastical :  And  whereas,  &c. 

Uncle.  Here  it  is;  ''independent  of  all  fo- 
reign avlhority,  civil  and  ecclesiastical ;"  this 
explains  the  nature  of  the  change.  Before,  they 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of 
London  ;  now  they  were  "  independent."  Be- 
fore, the  bishops  of  the  church  were  called 
"my  lord,"  and  enjoyed  temporal  authority; 
bat  now,  they  merely  bore  the  title  of  "  bishop." 
And  in  thf  address  of  the  convention  to  the 
bishops  of  England,  ref)uesling  the  conferment 
of  the  Episcopal  charncti-r  upon  llin.se  chosen 
for  that  purpose,  ihis  was  particularly  noticed; 
as  you  will  see  by  thi.s  e.xtract. 

Hrvrij.  "And  he.  it  recommended  to  this 
church,  in  the  states  hero  represented,  to  pro- 
10- 


120  THE    CHURCHES 

vide,  that  th<  ir  respnctive  bishops  may  be  call- 
ed '  The  Rii^rht  Rev.  A  /?.,  Bishop  of"  the  Pro- 
tesl:int  Epij'copal  Church  iti  C.  />.,'  and  as 
bishop,  may  have  no  other  title  ;  and  may  not 
use  any  such  style  as  is  usually  descriptive  of 
temporal  power  and  precedency." 

Uiicte.  An  address,  embodying  principles 
similjr  to  these  we  have  noticed,  was  trans- 
mitted by  this  association  to  the  archbishops 
and  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England,  inquir- 
ing whether  an  ordination  of  bishops  for  this 
country  might  be  effected  there;  to  which  an 
affirmative  answer  was  returned.  According- 
ly, at  the  recommendation  of  the  convention  of 
New- York,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Provost,  and 
the  Rev  Dr.  William  While,  at  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  convention  of  Pennsylvania, 
were  duly  consecrated  bishops  of  the  churches 
in  their  respective  states.  So  that  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Provost,  D.  D.,  rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
was  the  Jirst  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  New- 
York 

In  1789,  Bishop  Provost  was  assisted  in 
his  pastoral  office  over  the  Trinity  Church,  by 
the  Rev.  Abraham  Beach,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev. 
Benjunin  Moore,  D.  D.  The  Rev.  J.  Learn- 
ing, D.  D.,  resided  in  the  city  for  some  years, 
though  not  as  a  settled  rector.  In  1795,  the 
name  of  the  Re\^  John  Bisset  appears  on  the 
list,  as  an  assistant  minister  of  Ti  inity  Church. 
In  the  year  1801,  Bishop  Provost,  induced  by 


OF    NEW-YORK.  121 

ill-health,  some  afflictions  in  his  family,  and  an 
ardent  wish  to  retire  from  all  public  employ- 
ment, gave  notice  to  the  General  Convention, 
then  in  session  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  of  his 
intention  to  leave  his  office  as  bishop  of  the 
diocese  of  New-York,  and  of  his  resignation 
already  tendered  to  a  church  convention  of  that 
state.  To  this  proposition,  however,  the  Gene- 
ral Convention  were  not  prepared  to  accede, 
though  williniT  to  provide  Dr.  Provost  an  as- 
sistant in  the  duties  of  his  bishopric,  as  you  will 
see  by  reading  this  e.xtract  from  the  minutes  of 
the  house  of  bishops. 

H^'iinj.  "  While  the  house  of  bishops  sym- 
pathize most  tenderly  with  their  brother  Bishop 
Provost,  on  aceount  of  that  ill-health,  and  those 
meljncholy  occurrences  which  have  led  to  the 
design  in  question,  they  judge  it  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  th'-  sacred  trust  committed  to  them, 
to  recognize  the  Bishop's  act  as  an  eflectual  re- 
signation of  iiis  episcopal  jurisdiction.  Never- 
theless, being  sen.^ible  of  the  present  exigencies 
of  the  ch'irch  of  New-Yoric,  and  approving  of 
their  making  provision  for  the  actual  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  the  episcopacy,  the  bishops  of 
this  house  are  ready  to  consecrate  to  tlic  office 
of  bishop,  any  per.oon  who  may  be  prrsinled 
to  them  with  the  rff|in'site  li  stimonials  from  the 
General  and  State  Convenlir)ns ;  and  of  whose 
religiou.s.  mor;il.  and  literary  character,  due  sat- 
isfaction may  be  given." 


122  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  Accordingly,  at  the  recommendation 
of  the  State  Convention  of  New-York,  the  Rev^ 
Benjamin  Moore,  D,  D.,  tlien  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  was  consecrated  bishop  of  the  New- 
York  diocese,  in  conjunction  with  Bishop  Pro- 
vost, in  St.  Michael's  Church,  Trenton,  on  the 
1 1th  of  September,  1801.  The  house  of  bishops 
were  explicit  in  their  declaration,  that  they 
should  consider  the  new  bishop  only  as  coad- 
jutor bishop,  during  Dr.  Provost's  life,  although 
competent  to  all  the  episcopal  duties.  In  this 
year  also,  the  Rev.  John  Henry  Hobart  and 
the  Rev.  Cave  Jones,  appear  as  assistant  minis- 
ters of  Trinity  Church. 

John.  Mr.  Hobart  was  afterwards  biahop ; 
was  he  not,  sir  ?- 

Uncle.  Yes;  consecrated  in  1811.  In  1804, 
the  Rev.  William  Harris  was  rector  of  St. 
Mark's  Church,  Bowery,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Pilmore,  rector  of  Christ's  Church,  which  then 
stood  in  Ann,  but  afterwards  in  Anthony-street. 
near  Broadway.  Dr.  Pilmore  was  from  Eng- 
land ;  he  began  preaching  in  this  city  as  a  Me- 
thodist, but  finally  became  an  Episcopalian. 
He  afterwards  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where 
he  died.  The  names  of  Rev.  Thomas  Lyell, 
rector  of  Christ's  Church,  and  Rev.  George 
Strebeck,  rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  appear 
in  the  printed  list  of  1808.  In  181 1,  owing  to 
theflourishingstateof  the  church  in  the  diocese 
of  New-York,   the    increase   of  the  bishop's 


O  F    X  C  W  -  V  O  R  K .  1 23 

duties,  and  the  boJily  infirmities  of  Bishop 
Moore,  it  was  deetntd  absolutely  necessary  that 
another  assistant  bishop  sliould  be  appointed. 
And  at  the  request  of  thf  Convention  of  the 
State  of  New-York,  the  Rev.  John  Henry 
Hobart  was  duly  consecrated  to  the  office  of 
assistant  bishop,  by  the  General  Convention, 
assembled  in  Trinity  Church,  New- York,  May 
29th,  1811. 

John.   Was  Bishop  Provost  still  alive  ? 

U/icU.  Yes,  and  assisted  in  the  services  of 
consecration.  So  that  there  were  now  no  less 
than  three  bishops  in  the  dioci  se  of  New-York 
at  one  lime.  In  tiiis  year  also,  we  find  the 
names  of  several  new  ministers  in  the  city; 
viz.  lleverend.s  Nuhanid  Bowen,  rector  of 
Grace  Church;  Thomas  Y.  How,  assistant  min- 
ister of  Trinity  Church;  and  Rev.  Richard  C. 
Moore,  D.  D,  rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church. 
Dr.  .Moore,  in  1814,  was  consecrated  bishop  of 
the  diocese  of  Virginia,  and  removed  thither. 
In  this  year,  the  printed  list  shows  us  the  fol- 
lowing' acce.ssion  to  the  former  number  of  min- 
isters in  the  city  of  Ncw-Yorlc  ;  viz.  Reve- 
rends Williim  Berrian,  assistant  minister  of 
Trinity;  John  Brady,  assistant  minister,  and 
John  Kfvvlcy,  M.  D.,  rector  of  St.  George's; 
B'njnmin  'J'.  Ondcrdorik.  assistant  mini.stcr 
of  Trinity,  and  Ralph  Willislori,  rector  of  Zion 
Churcli. 


124  THE    CHURCHES 

Henry.  Mr.  Onderdonk  is  the  present  bishop, 
I  believe  ? 

Uncle.  Yes;  and  you  will  notice  that  all  the 
four  bishops  who  have  been  over  this  dio- 
cese, were  ministers  at  the  Trinity  Church  in 
this  city,  before  their  consecration  to  that 
office. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH. 

EPISCOPAL  CHURCH CONTINUED. 

Uncle.  St.  Paul's  was  the  third  Episcopal 
Church  built  within  the  precincts  of  the  city. 
The  first  stone  was  laid  on  the  14th  of  May, 
1764. 

Henry.  It  was  built,  then,  before  the  great 
fire? 

Uncle.  About  twelve  years  before ;  and 
was  saved  from  the  like  fate  with  the  Trinity 
only  by  the  timely  exertions  of  the  neighbour- 
ing- inhabitants,  who,  keeping  the  roof  con- 
stantly wet,  thus  extinguished  the  sparks  as 
they  fell.  In  this  they  were  aided  by  the  flat- 
ness of  the  roof,  and  the  railing  around  it.  St. 
Paul's  was  quite  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city 


o  r    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  125 

when  first  built.  The  same  year  in  which  the 
foundation  stone  was  laid,  the  lot  on  which  it 
stands  had  been  ploughed  up  and  soiced  loith 
wheat.  And  in  1826,  there  was  a  person  re- 
siding' in  the  city,  who  well  remembered  the 
buildinfy  of  the  "third  English  Church,"  in  the 
wheat-field.  This  has  always  been  considered 
the  most  elegant  and  finished  church  in  the 
city.  It  presents  a  fine  view  from  the  Park, 
and  the  appearance  is  very  imposing,  especially 
to  strangers,  upon  the  first  sight.  The  front  is 
an  Ionic  portico,  the  pediment  of  which  con- 
tains a  statue  of  St.  Paul,  in  a  niche,  in  the 
centre. 

John.  St.  Paul  has  a  cane  in  his  hand,  if  I 
recollect  aright.      What  does  that  mean,  sir  l 

Uncle.  The  design  might  iiavc  been,  to  sug- 
gest, to  the  beholder,  the  peculiar  character  of 
the  Apo.stle.  You  know  he  was  called  the 
Great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  In  this  cha- 
racter he  traversed  the  greater  part  of  Asia,  as 
it  was  then  known,  (ireece,  Macedonia,  and  all 
the  other  countries  lying  about  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea.  In  tlu'se  journeys  he  doubtless 
travelled,  many  a  weary  mile  on  foot,  over  the 
hills  and  mountains  of  those  eastern  countries, 
with  none  other  earthly  aid  than  his  staff.  This 
then  reminds  u.s  of  the  perseverance  and  zeal 
with  which  the  first  apostles  of  Christianity 
spread  thV;  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  finished  in  the 


126  TiiK  cininciiEs 

Corinthian  order,  with  high  columns  supporting 
an  archid  ceiling-.  But  iiere,  in  this  old  maga- 
zine, published  in  l/y.j,  I  have  found  a  short 
description  of"  St.  Paul's,  which  one  of  you  may 
read 

John.  "  The  great  window  in  front  of  this 
church,  is  adorned  with  the  monument  erected 
by  order  of  Congrf  ss  to  the  memory  of  General 
Montgomery.  The  pulpit  and  altar  are  de- 
signed and  executed  with  a  remarkable  degree 
of  taste.  The  steeple,  which  was  finished  last 
year,  (1794,)  comjjlctes  the  external  appearance 
of  the  building;  it  is  something  more  than  two 
hundred  feet  high  from  the  ground.  Above 
the  tower,  rises  a  quadrangular  section  or  story, 
of  the  Ionic  order,  with  proper  columns,  pilas- 
ters, and  pediments;  the  two  next  sections  are 
octangular,  of  the  Composite  and  Corinthian 
orders,  supported  by  columns  at  the  angles. 
The  whole  is  crowned  with  a  spire.  The 
church,  tower,  and  first  section  of  the  steeple, 
are  of  stone;  the  rest  is  of  wood.  As  no  ex- 
pense has  been  spared,  and  the  several  parts 
have  been  directed  by  persons  of  taste  and  ca- 
pacity, the  structure  is  generally  esteemed  pre- 
ferable to  most  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States." 

Uncle.  St.  Paul's,  you  recollect,  was  built 
before  the  Ilevoiuiionary  War.  Since,  then, 
with  the  increase  of  the  city,  the  number  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Churches  has  increased 
greatly.     By  looking  upon  this  map  of  the  city 


OF    NEW-YORK.  127 

you  will  see  that  the  number  of  Episrnpal 
Churches,  in  the  immediate  bounds  of  the  city, 
is  now  iiren(i/-seven,  including  the  French 
Church  in  Franklin-street.  You  may  mention 
their  names  and  location,  Henry, 

Henry.  All  Saints"  Church,  in  Henry-street; 
Christ  Church,  Anthony-street;  Church  of  the 
Ascension,  Canal-street;  Epiphany,  Stanton- 
street;  Grace,  Broadway;  St.  Clement's,  Amity- 
street ;  St.  Luke's,  Hudson-street;  St.  Mark's, 
Stuyvesant  Place;  St.  Peter's,  Twentieth  street; 
St.  Stephen's,  Broome-street ;  St.  Thomas', 
Broadway;  St.  John's,  Varick-strett ;  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's, Lafayelt'' Place  ;  St.  James',  Ham- 
ilton Square;  St.  Timothy's.  Houstoun-street, 
corner  of  Allen;  St.  Mary's,  Manhaitanville; 
and  Zinn  Church,  Mott-street.  'J'he  others, 
sir,  excepting^  the  French,  yo;i  have  already 
mentioned 

Unrle.  The  history  of  the  French  Church  is 
full  of  interest,  and  di  serves  a  separate  consider- 
ation. 

AU  Sainls^  Church,  in  Hf nry-street,  was 
built  in  1828.  Mr.  Haipht  is  its  present  pastor, 
ChrixCx  Church,  was  built  in  1823;  rector,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lyell.  The  Chvnh  of  the  Ascmsion 
enjoys  the  labours  of  thr  Rev.  TJr.  Eastburn. 
'i'hf  Epi])hn/iy  was  bfgun  as  a  missionary 
enterprise,  and  is  sometim<s  known  as  the  Mis- 
sion Church,  with  the  Rev.  L.  Jonrs  for  its 
rector.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  officiates  in 
11 


128  THE    CHURCHES 

Grace  Church,  which  was  erected    in    1809. 

This  has  long  been  one  of  the  most  popular 

churches  in  the  city.     Over   Si.   Clements,  is 

settled  Mr.  Bayard :  and  Dr.  Anthon,  over  St. 

Mark's.     St.   Mark's  Church  was  founded    in 
1795.     The  spire,  which  adds  so  much  to  the 

beauty  of  the  edifice,  was  not  raised  till  1827. 
St'.  Peter's  has  been   lately  built,  in  a  new 

part  of  the  city ;  its  rector  is  the  Rev.  Hugh 

Smith. 

St.  Stephefis  wns  founded  in  1805,  is  built 
of  stone,  and  its  size  is  75  feet  by  54 ;  rector. 
Rev.  Mr.  Price. 

St.  Bartholomew's  is  of  late  erection,  and  is 

a  great  ornament  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Kelly  was  lately  the  minister. 

St.  Thomas',  commenced  in  1823,  was  fin- 
ished and  consecrated  in  1826.  "  It  is  made  of 
stone,  and  in  the  most  pure  Gothic  style  of  any 
edifice  in  the  city.  Its  distinguishing  features 
are  the  two  large,  angular,  projecting  towers  at 
the  northeast  and  southeast  corners,  which  rise 
in  undiminished  proportions,  to  a  height  of  80 
feet,  and  end  in  pointed  turrets  of  a  dwarf  size; 
also,  the  immense  Gothic  window  in  front,  be- 
tween the  towers,  and  occupying  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  surface;  beneath  this,  and  in  each 
tower,  are  the  entrance  doors."  Its  rector  is  the 
Rev.  Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.  D. 

St.  JoA?t's\vas  ccmpleted  in  1810.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  churches  in  the  country. 


OF    N  £  \\'  -  Y  O  R  K . 


129 


"  It  is  ornamented  in  front  with  a  portico,  and 
four  columns  in  the  Corinthian  style,  which 
are  based  on  a  flight  of  steps  above  the  street; 
and  from  the  roof  of  the  portico  and  church,  is 
built  the  lofty  and  splendid  spire,  to  the  height 
of  240  feet.  The  bishop  and  two  rectors  offi- 
ciate alternately  in  Trinity,  St.  Paul's,  and  St. 
John's."  These  areat present, Bishop  Onderdonk, 
and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Schroeder,  and  Iligbee. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Mills  officiates  in  St.  Timoiky's, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Forbes  in  St.  Luke's.  St. 
Lu/ces  was  erected  in  1821,  and  has  a  fine  ap- 
pearance from  the  street.  St.  Mary's  was 
founded  in  1824. 


130 


THE    CHURCHES 


CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 


THE   FRENCH   CHURCH, 

Henry.  You  promised  us,  sir.  a  conversation 
concerning  the  history  of  the  French  Church, 
in  this  city,  of  whicli  we  are  somewhat  anxious 
to  hear. 

Uncle.  I  did  so,  and  am  glad  to  see  you  mani- 
fest such  interest  in  the  history  of  so  interesting 
a  people,  as  were  the  founders  of  the  French 
Protestant  Church  in  this  city.  You  have 
heard  more  or  less  of  their  history,  T  know,  and, 
therefore,  do  not  wonder  that  you  are  desirous 
to  learn  farther  concerning  them. 

Heary.  Yes,  we    have    both    heard  of  the 


OF    NEW-YORK.  131 

Huguenots ;  but  would  like  to  learn  more  con- 
cerning their  settlement  in  this  country,  and 
the  cause  of  their  flight  from  Europe, 

Uncle.  Huguenots,  you  will  remember,  was 
only  another  name  for  the  reformed  or  Protestant 
Calvinists  of  France,  which  was  first  given  to 
them  about  the  year  15G0.  These  devoted  Pro- 
testants underwent  a  persecution  from  the  hands 
of  the  Papists,  with  scarce  aparallel,a5/ocrMe//y, 
in  the  history  of  religion,  until  a  peace  of  short 
duration  was  obtained  for  them,  by  Henry  III. 
King  of  France,  1576.  This  peace  lasted  only 
ten  years.  Henry  IV.  succeeded  to  the  throne  in 
1589.  This  prince  had  been  educated  in  the 
Protestant  faith,  and  for  a  long  time  had  been 
at  the  head  of  the  Huguenot  party.  This  proved 
an  obstacle  to  his  coronation,  as  king  of  France; 
but  sacrificing  his  conscience  to  the  suggestions 
of  policy,  he  finally  cons'-nled  to  abjure  his  reli- 
gion ;  and  in  1593  publicly  professed  Popery, 
and  owned  the  authority  and  government  of 
Rome.  But  he  did  not  utterly  forget  his  old 
friends  and  allies,  the  Huguenots.  By  the  fa- 
mous edict  of  Nantes,  in  the  year  1508,  he  grant- 
ted  to  ihem  the  liberty  of  serving  God  according 
to  iheir  conscifnces,  and  a  full  enjoyment  of 
civil  rights  and  privileges,  without  persecution 
or  molestation.  Many  other  privih-nres  were 
granted,  that  were  not  even  demanded  by  the 
Huguenots.  Thus,  they  lived  happily,  under 
the  provisions  of  this  edict,  for  nearly  a  hundred. 
11* 


1  32  T  II  E    C  H  U  R  C  II  E  S 

years,  whni  it  was  ino?t  cruelly  revoked  by 
Louis  XIV.  in  16S5.  'J'his  weak  prince  not  on- 
ly revoked  the  edict  of  Henry,  but  followed  up 
the  revocation  by  a  measure  still  more  tyrannical 
and  shocking.  He  addressed  an  express  order 
to  all  the  reformed  churches /o  embrace  the 
Romish  faith.  The  immediate  consequence  of 
this  unjust  and  cruel  proceeding  was,  that  the 
persecuted  Protestants  fled  the  country  in  all  di- 
rections. More  than  half  a  million  of  these  suf- 
fering people,  on  this  occasion,  turned  their  backs 
upon  their  native  land,  to  seek  a  home  and  an 
asylum  in  other  countries,  where  they  could 
Avorship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences,  and  enjoy  that  peace  which 
their  mother  country  had  socruelly  refused  them. 
This,  in  the  event,  pioved  highly  detrimental 
to  the  best  interests  of  France,  but  greatly  advan- 
tageous to  those  countries  and  states  where  these 
industrious,  skilful,  and  religious  people  settled. 
Wherever  they  went,  their  influence,  both  as  to 
religion  and  learning,  was  good.  Among  other 
countries,  their  attention  was  turned  towards  the 
new  world,  and  many  of  them  found  an  asylum 
in  the  then  province  of  New-York.  The  most 
wealthy  settled  in  the  city;  others  went  into  the 
country,  and  planted  the  town  of  New  Roche]  le  ; 
and  a  few  took  up  their  abode  at  New  Pallz,  in 
Ulster  County. 

John.   How  far,  sir,  is    New  RochcUe  from 
New- York? 


OF    NEW-VORK.  133 

Uncle.  About  twenty  miles,  in  a  norlh-casterly 
direction.  Those  of  them  who  rcsidid  in  New- 
York  soon  organized  a  church,  upon  ihe  princi- 
ples and  model  of  the  reformed  church  in  their 
native  land  ;  and,  by  their  growth  and  foreign 
accessions,  formed  a  congregation,  said  to  have 
been  superior,  for  numbers  and  riches,  to  all  but 
the  Dutch.  Concerning  those  of  the  devout 
Huguenots  who  settled  at  New  Rochclle,  you, 
Henry,  may  read  the  following;  which,  says 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller, '"can  be  deptndtd  upon, 
though  received  oralhj  from  an  old  Huguenot 
woman  of  New  Rociulle.'' 

Heary.  "  When  the  Huguenots  first  settled 
at  New  Rochelle,  the  only  place  of  worsliip 
they  had  to  attend  was  in  New- York  city.  They 
had  taken  lands  on  terms  which  required  tlie 
utmost  exertions  of  men,  women,  and  children 
among  them,  to  clear,  and  render  tillable.  They 
were  therefore  in  the  habit  of  working  hard  till 
Saturday  night,  spending  the  niqht  in  trudging 
down  on  foot  to  the  citv,  attending  worsliip  twice 
the  ne^lday,  and  walking  home  the  same  night, 
to  be  ready  for  work  in  the  morning.  Amidst 
all  these  hardships  they  wrote  to  France,  what 
great  privi/efires  they  enjoyed  / ' 

Unrle.  You  see  what  a  privilege  they  con- 
sidered it,  to  be  permitted  to  mett  once  a-week 
their  br<thren.  assembled  in  the  house  of  God. 
They  selllfd  two  ministers  over  this  congrega- 
tion in  New- York.  Mr.  Rou  was  the  first  culkd ; 


1S4  THE    CHURCHES 

and  is  represented  ai^  liaving  been  a  man  of  much 
Icarniniif,  bul  of  rather  an  unhapjjy  temperament. 
Mr.  Moulinaars,  his  colJeague,  was  most  distin- 
guished for  his  pacific  spirit  and  unblameable 
life :  he  was  a  man  of  moderate  abilities,  but 
much  beloved  by  his  people.  Between  these 
two  ministers,  an  unhappy  dispute  arose,  about 
the  year  1724.  Of  this,  1  will  merely  say  a  few 
words.  It  was,  indeed,  an  unhappy  affair.  Mr. 
Rou  was  thought  to  have  rather  despised  his 
fellow-labourer,  and  for  a  longtime  retained  his 
influence  over  the  congregation,  on  account  of 
the  superiority  of  his  talents  for  the  pulpit.  But, 
in  this  year,  Mr.  Moulinaars  gained  a  majority 
in  his  favour;  and  a  newsetofelders  being  elected, 
Mr.  Rou  was  dismissed.  But  Mr.  William 
Burnet,  a  son  of  the  celebrated  bishop  of  that 
name,  being  then  Governor  in  the  colony,  and  a 
firm  fiirnd  to  Mr.  Rou,  by  his  influence,  rein- 
stated that  gentleman  in  his  pastoral  office, 
^'his  caused  a  breach  in  the  congregation,  and 
it  became  divided  ;  a  part  remaining  with  Mr. 
Rou,  but  the  majority  leaving  the  church,  and 
connecting  themselves  elsewhere.  Among  those 
\vho  left  it,  with  great  reluctance,  was  a  Mr.  De- 
lance}\  who  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence, 
and  had  been  a  generous  benefactor  to  the  French 
church. 

Henry.  Did  Mr.  Rou  preach  in  the  French 
language  ? 

Uncle.   Yes ;    as    did  his    successors,    even 


OF    NE'.V-YORK.  135 

down  to  the  present  day.  On  every  Sabbath,  or 
every  second  one,  the  French  inhabitants  of  our 
city  may,  if  they  choose,  hear  the  gospel  preach- 
ed in  their  native  tongue.  This  practice  has 
been  kept  up,  though  the  church  would,  doubt- 
less, have  been  much  more  flourishing  at  present, 
bad  the  Encriish  hinguage  been  introduced  into 
their  pulpit  altogether,  many  years  ago.  The 
Fiench  chinch  has  sufiVrc  d  much  from  their 
aversion  to  a  change,  as  the  Dutch  formerly  did 
from  a  similar  cause.  The  members  of  the 
French  church  have  dwindled  away  to  a  very 
small  number,  though  they  have  one  of  the  finest 
church  buildinirs  in  the  city. 

HeiLrtj.  This  stands,  1  Iji.'lieve,  on  the  corner 
of  Church  and  Franklin  streets.  But  where- 
abouts, sir,  was  the  old  one? 

Viide.  The  old  French  church  stood  fronting 
on  Fine-street,  b(  tween  that  and  C(  dar,  and  near 
Nassau-street.  'I'liis  venerable  alifice  you  will 
now,  doubtless,  call  to  mind,  as  it  is  only  five 
or  six  years  since  it  was  removed.  It  was  one 
of  the  oldest  buildings  in  the  city,  at  the  lime  of 
its  removal.  Here  you  see  a  picture  of  it,  as  it 
stood  a  few  years  ago.      [Head  of  the  Chapter.] 

Henri/.  I  now  recollect,  it,  sir.  It  had  a  large 
yard  before  it,  on  Cedar-street,  as  is  here  repre- 
sented. 

Uncle.  Yes;  jml  the  white  tombstones,  with 
which  it  wa.s  filled,  betokening  the  abode  of 
numerous  dead,  together  with  the  old-fashioned 


136  THE    CHURCHES 

■church,  crowned  with  its  ancient  quadrangular 
tower,  under  whose  arched  windows  the  doves 
and  swallows  found  a  safe  retreat,  gave  the 
whole  an  aspect  of  peculiar  sacredness  in  the 
eyes  of  the  beholder.  But,  like  many  other 
sacred  enclosures  in  this  bustling  city,  it  has 
'been  invaded  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  enterprise 
and  improrevimt ;  the  slumbers  of  its  dead 
liave  been  disturbed — the  church,  with  its  old 
square  tower,  has  been  demolished — and  the 
spot  itself  is  now  covered  with  one  solid  mass 
of  lofty  stores. 

John.  In  what  year  was  the  old  French 
Church  built? 

Uncle.  In  the  year  1704  ;  as  you  Avill  see  by 
the  following  inscription  in  Latin,  which  was 
on  the  front  of  it ; — 

^jDes  Sacra 
Gallor.  Pkot. 

Reform. 
FVNDA.  1704. 

Penitvs 
■Repar.  1741. 

A  plain  translation  of  which,  is:  This  French 
Protestant  Reformed  Church  was  built  in 
1704;  and  repaiicd  within  in  1741.  It  was 
removed,  Il)elieve,  in  i832,  and  consequently 
'had  stood  for  the  period  of  one  hundred  and 
(twenty-eight  years.    ?Jr.  Smith,  who  wrote  his 


OF    NEW-YORK.  137 

history  about  the  year  1750,  in  a  note,  gives  a 
short  sketch  of  the  church,  which  Henry  may 
read  lo  us. 

Henry.  "  The  French  Church,  by  the  con- 
tentions in  1724,  and  the  disuse  of  the  language, 
is  now  reduced  to  an  inconsiderable  handful. 
The  church,  which  is  of  stone,  is  nearly  a 
square,  (the  area  was  70  feet  long,  and  50 
broad,)  and  plain  both  within  and  without.  It 
is  fenced  from  the  street,  has  a  steeple  and  a 
bell,  the  latter  of  which  was  the  gift  of  Sir 
Henry  Asshurst,  of  London.  The  present 
minister,  Mr.  Carle,  is  a  native  of  France,  and 
succeeded  Mr.  Rou  in  1754.  He  bears  an  irre- 
proachable character,  is  very  intent  upon  his 
studies,  preaches  moderate  Calvinism,  and 
speaks  with  propriety,  both  of  pronunciation 
and  gesture." 

Uncle.  During  the  revolutionary  war,  this  suf- 
fered, in  common  with  most  of  the  other  churches, 
from  the  hands  of  the  soldiery,  being  ustd  as  a 
prison.  The  new  church  was  erected  in  1832. 
The  present  rector  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Verren. 


138  THE    CHURCHES 

CHAPTER   SIXTEENTH. 

THI   ClUAKEKS. 

Uncle.  We  have  been  conversing  somewhat 
concerning  the  history  of" the  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  city;  but,  as  we  purpose  to  consider  the 
history  ot  the  difTercnt  sects  in  the  order  that 
they  appeared  in  the  colony,  we  should  have 
placed  that  of  the  Quakeis  next  to  the  Dutch 
Reformed.  For  wo  have  abundant  mention  of 
them  as  early  as  the  time  of  Governor  Stuyve- 
sant.     And  how  early  was  that,  Henry? 

Hennj.  He  gave  up  his  government  in  1664, 
I  believe. 

Uncle.  So  that  it  must  have  been  some  years 
before  1664  that  the  Quakers,  as  a  religious 
sect,  were  first  known  here.  It  is  thought  that 
they  made  their  first  appearance  in  1657.  In 
that  year  five  persons,  by  name  Robert  Hod- 
son,  Christopher  Holdtn,  H.  Norton,  IVlary 
Witherhead,  and  Doratha  Watigh,  are  said  to 
have  arrived  at  New-York,  then  called  New 
Amsterdam.  The  last  two  were  put  into  a 
dungeon  for  declaring  their  principles  in  the 
street.  Robert  Hodson  went  to  Hempstead,  on 
Long-Island,  where,  holdinga  meeting  publicly, 
he  was  apprehended  by  order  of  the  governor  of 


o  r    X  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  1 39 

New  Amsterdam,  as  were  also  two  women ;  all  of 
whom  received  punishment  from  the  governor. 
Robert  Hodsun  was  treated  like  a  common 
felon.  First  he  was  led  about  the  streets,  "at 
the  carts  tail,"  with  his  hands  pinioned  behind 
him  ;  then  beaten  with  a  rope  till  he  fell  ex- 
hausted; and  afterwards  he  was  set  at  the  wheel- 
barrow to  work  at  hard  labour.  Such  treat- 
ment was  continued  until  Ciovernor  Siuyvesant 
Avas  prevailed  upon  by  his  sister  to  let  him  go 
free. 

John.  How  could  the  good  Peter  Stuyvesant 
be  so  cruel  ? 

Uncle.  There  is  much  allowance  to  be  made 
for  hitn.  Vou  know  that  the  peaceable  Qua- 
kers had  been  persecuted  in  all  the  colonial  set- 
tlements in  North  America,  Rhode  Island  ex- 
cepted;  and  Governor  Stuyvesant  went  no  far- 
ther in  the  work  of  persecution  than  our  other 
good  governors,  especially  those  in  the  New 
England  colonies.  Besides  this,  all  officers 
of  the  Dutch  government  in  the  colony,  in 
taking  their  oath  of  alligiancc,  had  to  pledge 
themselvf  s  to  "maintain  the  Reformed  religion, 
in  conformity  with  the  word  of  (Jod,  and  the 
decree  of  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht."  This  fa- 
mous synod,  which  was  convened  during  the 
years  1618  and  1019,  laid  strict  requisitions 
upon  all  governors,  and  other  rulers.  With 
this  in  our  view,  wc  can  more  easily  account 
for  the  appearance  of  a  persecuting  spirit  in  the 
12 


140  THE    CHURCHES 

conduct  of  Governor  Stuyvesant.  Many  others 
of  this  society,  who  removed  from  New  Eng- 
land, were  treated  by  him  with  severity.  Per- 
sons were  made  liable  to  fines  for  lodging  a 
Quaker  even  one  night.  Though  their  num- 
ber was  still  small,  yet  they  continued  to  hold 
their  regular  meetings  in  the  face  of  all  opposi- 
tion ;  and  for  the  want  of  a  more  suitable  place, 
they  were  accustomed  to  assemble  in  a  wood 
between  Flushing  and  Jamaica,  on  Long  Island. 
But  here  also  they  were  wrongfully  disturbed, 
and  apprehended  by  order  of  the  governor. 
Among  the  rest  thus  apprehended,  was  or>e 
John  Bowne,  an  inhabitant  of  Flushing,  who 
was  treated  with  more  than  usual  severity,  and 
sent  to  Holland  for  trial.  His  story  is  interest- 
ing, and  somewhat  as  follows : — Being  per- 
suaded by  his  wife  to  attend  one  of  their  meet- 
ings, he  was  struck  by  their  serious  deportment, 
and  manifest  desire  to  worship  God  in  sincerity, 
embraced  their  principles,  avowed  himself  one 
of  their  number,  and  gave  his  own  house  for 
them  to  meet  in.  In  consequence  of  this,  he 
was  apprehended  and  taken  under  guard  to 
New  Amsterdam,  where,  after  suffering  much, 
and  making  no  promise  to  discontinue  the  meet- 
ings at  his  house,  he  was,  in  1662,  sent  as  a  pri- 
soner on  board  of  a  ship-of-war  to  Holland. 
But,  through  contrary  winds,  he  was  landed  in 
Ireland,  and  permitted  to  pass  through  that 
country  and  England,  on  engaging  to  appear 


O  F    N  E  \V  -  V  0  R  K .  141 

in  due  time  in  Holland.  This  promise  he 
faithfully  fulfilled,  and  thus  gave  them  a  noble 
example  of  truth  and  honesty.  But  his  judges 
there,  finding  him  steadfast  to  his  opinions  of 
religious  duty,  at  length  set  him  at  liberty. 
Soon  after  this  he  returned  home,  and  found  on 
his  arrival  the  government  iu  the  possession  of 
the  English.  He  saw  also  the  Dutch  governor  ; 
who,  it  is  said,  made  an  acknowledgment  to  him 
for  his  cruelty  in  the  treatment  inflicted  upon 
him  by  his  order. 

Henry.  Were  the  English  governors  more 
friendly  to  the  Quakers  than  the  Dutch  had 
been  ? 

Uncle.  Yes,  much  more  ;  so  that  their  num- 
bers increased  very  rapidly  after  the  surrender. 
In  1692,  a  yearly  meeting  was  held  at  Flush- 
ing; which  .shows  that  they  were  in  a  flourish- 
ing state.  In  1696,  a  merting-house  was  built 
in  New- York.  This  was  only  three  years  after 
the  building  of  the  first  Garden-street  Church, 
and  consequently  was  the  third  house  erected 
for  public  worship  without  the  walls  of  the  fort. 

John.  Whereabouts  was  this  Clunker  meet- 
ing-house, sir? 

Uncle.  It  was  probably  the  same  building 
that  we  find  on  a  map  of  the;  city,  published  in 
1728,  .standing  on  a  narrow  street  which  con- 
nected Maiden-lane  with  Crown,  now  Liberty- 
street. 

This  church  was  outside  of  the  walla  of  iho 


142  THE    CHURCHES 

city,  which  once  run  along  where  Wall-street 
now  is,  and  being-  afterwards  sold  to  Mr.  Grant 
Thorburn,  was  for  many  years  used  by  him  as 
a  seed  store.  The  store  you  undoubtedly  re- 
collect, as  it  has  been  pulled  down  only  a  year 
or  two. 

Henry.  Where  did  they  build  after  this? 

Uncle.  In  Pearl-street,  on  the  block  between 
Franklin-square  and  Oak-street.  There  the 
Quaker  meeting-house,  for  many  years,  stood 
separated  from  the  bustling  street  by  its  neat 
wooden  railings.  During  the  revolutionary  war, 
it  suffered  in  common  with  the  other  non-Episco- 
pal churches,  and  was  used  by  the  British  army 
as  a  hospital.  When  this  property  was  sold, 
the  society  again  built  in  Rose-street.  Besides 
this,  the  Friends  now  have  meeting-houses  in 
Hester,  Henry,  Carmine,  and  Downing  streets. 

Henry.  Why,  sir,  did  the  British  army  dis- 
turb the  Quakers,  when  they  were  so  peaceable? 

Uncle.  They  disturbed  them  merely  because 
they  ivere  peaceable.  They  wished  to  sec  them 
take  up  arms  as  loyalists.  But  the  Quakers, 
generally  speaking,  remained  true  to  their  prin- 
ciples o{  peace.  So  early  as  1675,  we  find  that 
a  considerable  number  of  inhabitants  at  Oyster 
Bay,  L.  I.,  being  Quakers,  refused  to  take  up 
arms  and  watch  against  the  Indians,  for  which 
fines  and  taxes  were  levied  upon  them.  But,  in 
1755,  "the  people  called  Quakers"  advanced 
largely  from  their  substance  in  aid  of  the  colonial 


OF    NEW- YORK.  143 

army  against  the  French.  This  was  an  excep- 
tion to  their  general  rule.  In  the  American  re- 
volution weagain  find  themneiUral.  And  this  was 
peculiarly  a  time  of  trial  to  them.  For,  to  attend 
their  yearly,  and  other  meetings,  they  had  not 
only  to  pass  the  lines  of  the  contending  parties, 
but  overground  rendered  still  more  perilous  by 
hordes  of  desperate  men,  who,  for  plunder's  sake, 
frequented  that  part  of  the  country  that  lay  be- 
tween the  American  and  British  armies,  and  so 
long  known  as  the  Neutral  Ground. 

From  these  lawless  men,  the  Quakers  expe- 
rienced frequent  abuse,  and  robberies.  On  these 
very  grounds  the  meetings  were  frequently  held, 
as  at  Marmaroneck,  Purchase,  and  Shapaqua. 
Also,  when  the  yearly  meeting  was  held  on 
Long  Island,  the  members  who  came  from  a  dis- 
tance were  liable,  in  going  wiihin  the  British 
lines,  to  be  taken  up  and  imprisoned,  and  no  less 
so  on  their  return.  Accordingly,  on  their  return 
from  the  yearly  meeting  of  1777,  eight  persons 
were  apprehended,  and  imprisoned  for  several 
rnonlh.s  in  what  was  called  the  "  Fleet  Prison," 
lying  at  Esopus  creek,  in  Hudson  river.  Many 
others  met  with  losses  and  abuse,  in  going  to 
ond  from  the  yearly  meeting,  but  principally 
from  the  lawless  men  on  the  neutral  ground. 
And  indeed,  when  the  nature  and  circumstancis 
of  the  war,  and  the  relative  situation  in  which 
the  contending  armies  were  placed,  are  taken 
jnlo  consideration,  it  is  evident,  as  the  Uuakcrs 
12» 


144  THE    CH  URCHE9 

themselves  assert,  that  an  indulgence  and  liberty 
were  granted  to  them,  hardly  to  have  been  ex- 
pected. 

Before  we  take  leave  of  these  peaceable  peo- 
ple, I  will  just  mention  something  about  which 
you  may  inquire,  should  you  ever  be  at  the 
town  of  Flushing,  L.  I.  There  were  stand- 
ing in  that  place,  in  the  year  1800,  two  large 
oak  trees,  under  which  George  Fox,  the  great 
founder  of  the  sect  of  Quakers,  or  Friends, 
preached,  during  his  visit  to  this  country  about 
the  year  1670.  When  they  were  once  in 
danger  of  being  cut  down,  Mr.  John  Bowne, 
perhaps  a  descendant  of  the  person  of  the  same 
name  whom  we  have  noticed  above,  agreed  to 
pay  the  market  price  of  the  wood  to  the  owner, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  spared.  Someday, 
perhaps,  you  may  have  an  opportunity  of  in- 
quiring concerning  these  trees. 

Jo'm.   Who  were  some  of  their  ministers,  sir? 

Uncle.  Ah!  they  have  no  regularly  educated 
and  ordained  clergymen,  as  we  have,  John. 
And  this  is  one  of  their  chief  errors.  They 
have  no  pastors,  entirely  devoted  to  the  work  of 
religion,  to  "take  care  of  the  chv.rch  of  God,^' 
as  St.  Paul  expresses  it;  and  none  to  whom  his 
other  words  of  inspiration  might  be  applied, 
"  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,  he  de- 
sireth  a  good  work."  They  profess  to  found 
their  practice  on  this  passage  of  Scripture: — 
"  Frc&iy  ye  have  received,  freely  give.'' 


OF    NEW-VORK.  145 

CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH. 

THE   LUTHERAN  CUXTRCH. 

Uncle.  One  of  the  earliest  sects  of  Christians 
that  appeared  in  the  city,  after  the  surrender  of 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  in  1664,  was  that  of  the 
Lutherans.  The  terms,  you  recollect,  on  which 
the  Dutch  governor  capitulated  were  extreme- 
ly favourable,  not  only  to  those  of  his  own  sect, 
but  to  those  also  of  every  denomination ;  for 
they  were  to  have  "freedom  of  conscience"  in 
regard  to  matters  of  religion,  and  to  be  free  from 
restraint  in  rt-fcrence  to  their  mode,  time,  and 
other  peculiarities  of  worship.  Many  of  the 
Dutch  inhabitants  were  luidoubtediy  Lutherans 
at  the  time  of  surrender;  but  their  numbers  ap- 
pearto  have  rapidly  increased  after  these  favoura- 
ble terms  in  r(;gard  to  faith  were  published  by 
Governor  Nicolls,  as  an  encouragement  for  set- 
tlers. Indeed,  so  great  was  the  number  of  Lu- 
therans at  that  timi,-,  that  the  very  next  year  after 
the  English  flag  had  been  displayed  from  the 
hei'i^hls  of  Fort  Amsterdam,  they  petitioned  for 
liberty  to  send  to  (jermany  a  call  for  a  regular 
pastor.  This  petition,  of  course,  Governor 
Nicolls  granted,  and  in  February,  1669,  two 
years  after  Colonel  Nicolls  had  left  the  govern* 


146  THECHUUCHE9 

meat,  the  Rev.  Jacobus  Fabricius  arrived  in 
the  colony,  and  besfan  his  ministrations. 

John.  O,  [  remember  his  name  :  he  had  some 
difficuhy  with  the  g-overnor,  1  think  you  said. 

Uncle.  All  the  ditficulty  was,  that  being-  ac- 
cused of  disturbing  the  peace  of  one  of  the 
southern  colonies  by  preaching  his  peculiar 
sentiments,  he  was,  in  consequence  of  this,  re- 
proved by  the  governor,  and  hie  liberty  of  leav- 
ing the  bounds  of  the  colony,  was  at  first  some- 
what restricted  ;  and  afterwards  he  was  prohib- 
ited altogether  from  preaching:  and  to  show 
you  what  customs  obtained  in  those  days,  was  I 
believe  the  only  reason  why  I  mentioned  the 
circumstance  at  all.  However,  it  is  not  much 
to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the  state  of  the 
times  then,  th<>  recency  of  the  reformation,  and 
the  relics  of  Papacy  then  to  be  found  both  in  tho 
forms  and  doctrines  of  the  Lvitheran  church, 
that  an  outcry  was  made  by  American  colonists 
against  its  zealous  preachers.  Although  Luther 
was  looked  upon  by  all  Protestant  reformers  as 
the  great  and  worthy  leader  of  all  opposition  to 
the  ghostly  power  of  the  Pope,  still  some  of  his 
peculiar  doctrines  were  esteemed  by  them  to  be 
as  fatally  erroneous  and  heretical  as  those  held 
by  the  "  Mother  Church"  herself  It  is  not  un- 
charitable towards  our  Lutheran  brethren,  to 
say.  (because  it  is  a  fact  acknowledged  by  all,) 
that  of  all  the  Protestant  churches,  the  Lutheran 
iTiost  nearly  reseijibles  the  Roman.     Hence  it 


OF    N  EAV-YOUK.  147 

was,  I  think,  that  Mr.  Fabricius,  and  others 
among  the  early  Lutheran  clergymen  in  the 
colony,  met  with  some  trouble  and  opposition. 
But  you  must  not  imagine  from  these  remarks, 
that  the  tide  of  opposition  was  setting  strongly 
against  the  Lutherans ;  rather  the  contrary. 
For  in  the  year  that  Mr.  Fabricius  arrived,  on 
the  13th  of  0^-tober,  1669,  Lord  Lovelace,  who 
had  succeeded  Colonel  Nicolis  in  the  govern- 
ment, publicly  proclaimed  his  having  received 
a  letter  from  liis  master,  the  Duke  of  York,  ex- 
pressing his  pleasure  that  "the  Lutherans 
should  be  tolerated,  &c."  And  this  was  a  great 
deal  for  the  Popish  duke  to  declare;  for  after- 
wards, you  will  rem'-mber,  when  he  occupied 
the  throne  of  England  as  James  II,  he  man- 
ifested his  violent  opposition  to  every  thing 
that  savoured  of  Protestantism,  and  earnestly 
endeavoured  to  es'.ablish  Romanism  in  the 
kingdom.  Lutherans,  Presbyterians,  and  Epis- 
copalians, were  all  iho  same  in  his  eye,  so  long 
as  they  rcfu.scd  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  and  all 
alike  fell  the  weight  of  his  tyrannical  bigotry, 
wh»n  a  succession  to  the  throne  and  sceptre  of 
Encrland  gave  him  an  occasion  for  the  display 
of  that  spirit,  the  rxercise  of  which  finally  cost 
him  his  crown  and  his  kingdom. 

Henry.  You  rnmtioned,  sir,  that  the  Luthe- 
rans, of  all  Protestants,  differ  least  from  the 
Romish  Church,  I  should  like  to  know  how 
they  differ  from  their  fellow  Protestants. 


148  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  A  few  words  will  explain  this. 
Since  the  age  of  the  good  Luther,  the  creed  of 
his  followers  has  undergone  many  minor 
changes,  though  the  main  features  of  their  sys- 
tematic principles  remain  the  same.  Luther, 
you  know,  was  educated  a  Romanist,  cloistered 
in  one  of  their  monasteries,  ordained  a  priest  in 
their  church,  and  had  no  one  to  instruct  him  in 
the  principles  of  Protestantism,  and  to  teach 
him  that  the  Romish  church  was  corrupt  in 
doctrine  and  deed,  and  needed  reformation. 
How  wonderful,  then,  that  he  should  have  been 
a  reformer  at  all !  It  would  have  been  more 
wonderful  still,  had  he  come  out  so  entirely 
free  from  the  faults  of  Popery,  as  afterwards  did 
Calvin,  Knox,  and  others.  But  to  answer  your 
question  more  directly,  Henry  ;  the  disciples  of 
Luther  differ  from  most  other  Protestants,  in 
the  following  particulars  ;  they  affirm  that  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  malcrially  pre- 
sent in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
though  in  an  incomprehensible  manner ;  and 
they  maintain  some  of  the  old  religious  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Papists;  though  in  later 

f'ears  their  public  teachers  have  indulged  in  the 
iberty  of  dissenting  from  the  less  important 
symbols,  and  creeds,  and  spclarian  principles  of 
their  founder.  The  Lutherans  were  formerly 
very  strict  in  relation  to  the  principles  of  their 
faith,  and  their  religion  made  a  part  of  their 
civil    polity,    which,  perhaps,    benefitted    the 


OF    NEW-YORK.  149 

cause  of  Christianity  much  in  those  early  times 
of  rr^formation  ;  but  there  can  now  be  but  little 
doubt  that  vital  Christianity  has  flourished  more 
among  the  Lutherans,  since  they  have  adopted 
the  general  sentiment  that  Christians  are  ac- 
countable to  God  alone  for  their  religious  be- 
lief, and  that  errors  in  faith  are  not  crimes  pun- 
ishable by  the  magistracy  of  the  country.  But 
we  must  return  to  the  history  of  the  Lutheran 
church  in  New-York.  We  have  seen  that  they 
were  the  ne.xt  to  the  Dutch  Reformed,  in  settling 
a  minister,  and  consequenily  the  history  of  their 
church  begins  farther  back  than  any  other  in  the 
city,  the  Dutch  Reformed  and  the  Friends  ex- 
cepted. 

John.  How  long  did  Mr.  Fabricius  preach 
here,  before   he  was  silenced  by  the  governor? 

Uncle.  From  the  year  16G9  to  l(i7o  ;  just 
si.x  years.  In  1075  he  was  forbiilden  to  preach 
any  more  in  the  province,  either  in  public  or 
private.  This  severity  was  induced  by  the  im- 
prud'nciesof  the  rev.  gentleman.  His  succes- 
sor was  the  Rev.  Barnardus  Arentius. 

Heart/.  Had  the  Lutherans  a  church  in  Mr. 
Fabricius'  time? 

Uncle.  No.  In  1G71,  as  we  learn  from 
Smith's  history,  Martin  Hofman,  by  the  peti- 
tion of  the  minister  and  elders  of  the  Lutheran 
Society,  in  New-York,  had  liberty  given  him 
to  visit  the  sittlements  on  the  DeUnvarr  River, 
to  solicit  contributiona  to  assist  them  in  building 


150  THE    CHURCHES 

a  church.     But  ffom  results,  it  appears  that  he 
Avas  not  successful  in  his  mission. 

The  church  in  the  fort,  was,  then,  the  only 
one  in  the  city.  But  about  the  year  17 10,  their 
numbers  being  very  much  increased  by  the  ar- 
rival of  about  three  thousand  Palatines  from 
Europe,  under  the  conduct  of  Governor  Hun- 
ter, they  erected  their  first  church.  Here, 
John,  on  this  old  map  of  the  city,  sec  if  you  can 
find  the  location  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

John.  Yes,  sir ;  here  it  is,  on  the  corner  of 
Rector-street  and  Broadway. 

Henry.  It  was  burnt  down  in  the  great  fire 
of  the  revolution,  1  think  you  told  us,  uncle. 

Uncle.  True;  it  was  burnt  at  the  same  time 
with  the  old  Trinity.  Some  years  before  this, 
it  had  a  narrow  escape  from  the  flames.  In  one 
of  the  old  weekly  papers  there  is  a  notice,  that 
the  "German  Lutheran  Church"  was,  in  Au- 
gust, 1750,  struck  by  lightning;  which  running 
down  the  steeple,  tore  off  some  shingles,  other- 
wise injured  the  roof,  and  finally  set  fire  to  it; 
but  by  the  rain  and  timely  assistance,  therisii^g 
flames  were  extinguished.  It  was  never  rebuilt 
after  the  fire  in  1776,  and  Grace  Church  now 
occupies  the  spot.  About  ten  years  before  the 
revolution,  the  German  Lutherans  built  an- 
other church.     Where  was  that,  John? 

John.  Is  not  that  singular  looking  old  build- 
ing, at  the  corner  of  Frankfort  and  William 
streets,  the  one,  sir  ? 


OF    N  E  \V  -  Y  0  R  K  . 


151 


Uncle.    You  are  right.      Here   is   a   view 
of  it,  as  it  is  still  to  bu  seen.     It  was  built  in 


1766,  nnd  d'flirnted  on  the  first  of  May,  1767. 
It  wns  callfd  (,'hrist's  Church.  This  situation 
was,  then,  of  coursp,  far  out  of  town.  There 
were  but  a  few  scattering  hous(3  along;  on  the 
13 


152  THE    CHURCHES 

line  of  Chatham-street,  then  known  as  tho 
"High  Road  to  Boston."  The  church  stoo($ 
not  far  from  the  borders  of  what  was  called 
"  Beekman's  Swan)]),"  and  is  even  at  preseat 
sometimes  known  as  the  "  Swamp  Church." 

The  first  pastor  of  Christ's  Church  was  the 
Rev.  John  S.  Gerocck,  who  ofliciated  there  six 
years,  and  was  then  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg.  Mr.  Muhlenberg 
was  the  pastor  until  the  year  177G,  when  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  interrupted  his  labours. 
Fronn  this  period  the  church  was  destitute  of  a 
regular  pastor  until  the  year  1784.  But  the 
building  was  not  "closed"  during  all  this  time. 
It  was  one  of  the  few  buildings  in  the  city  saved 
from  the  desolating  hand  of  the  British  soldiery, 
and  was  used  by  the  Hessians  as  their  place  of 
worship. 

Jolm.  Who  were  the  Hessians,  sir? 

Uncle.  They  were  soldiers  from  Germany, 
long  known  in  Europe  for  their  bravery  and 
hardihood,  and  at  that  time  under  the  pay  of 
England.  They  take  their  name  from  Hesse, 
a  principality  of  Germany.  'J'hese  German 
regiments  had  chaplains,  who  officiated  by 
turns  in  the  Lutheran  Church.  The  Hessians 
were  very  attentive  to  the  worship  of  their 
fathers  when  in  this  country,  and  by  their  liberal 
contributions  to  the  plate  on  Sundays,  the  Lu- 
theran Church  was  freed  from  debt,  and  had  a 
handsome  surplus.    They  were  famous  fov  their 


OF    NEW-YORK.  153 

beautiful  singin?,  with  which  they  celebrated 
the  worship  of  God,  and  soothed  their  melan- 
choly hours.  And  though  they  sung  in  their 
natire  language,  yet  the  Americans  used  fre- 
quently to  assemble  around  their  places  of  wor- 
ship and  amusement,  to  listen  and  admire.  In 
this  cemetry,  many  a  poor  stranger  from  Ger- 
many was  buried  during  the  long  continued 
war.  Hessian  officers,  in  full  military  cos- 
tume, have  since  been  disinterred,  with  their 
side-arms,  cocked  hats,  and  boots. 

At  the  restoration  of  peace,  in  1784,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Kunze.  who  had  recently  emigrated 
to  Philadelphia  from  Germany,  accepted  a  call 
to  become  the  pastor  of  Christ  Church,  and 
ofTiciated  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
July,  1807.  The  portrait  of  this  venerable 
pastor,  which  hangs  in  the  halls  of  the  New- 
York  Historical  Society,  you  may  perhaps 
have  an  opportunity  of  seeing.  He  was  much 
esteemed  in  this  city  for  learning  and  piety, 
and  held,  for  several  years,  the  respectable 
office  of  professor  of  languages  in  Columbia 
College.  In  October  of  the  same  year,  the 
Rev.  F.  W.  Geissenliainer  was  in.stall-'d  in  the 
pastoral  office,  and  remained  with  his  people 
until  1814,  when  he  resigned  and  removed  to 
Pennsylvania.  His  successor  was  the  Rev. 
C.  F.  SchaenTer.  who  officiated  till  1822.  then 
left  and  took  charge  of  St.  Matthew's,  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  Church,  in  Walker-street.     On 


154  THK    CULT.  CUES 

Dr.  Scha^fTer's  leaving',  Dr.  Geisscnhainer  was 
recalled  to  the  old  church,  where  he  continued 
till  1830,  when  the  congregation  removed  to  the 
church  in  Walker-street,  the  Walker-street 
congregation  having  previously  removed  to 
Orange-street. 

Jokn.  Had  they  built  a  church  in  Orange- 
street  1 

Uncle.  No ;  but  they  had  purchased  one 
from  the  "  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,"  rjow 
known  as  the  Canal-street  Church. 

Henry.  Is  not  Dr.  Geissenhainer  since  dead  ? 

Uncle.  Yes.  He  departed  this  life  a  month 
or  two  ago,  full  of  years;  being  at  that  time, 
probably,  the  oldest  clergyman  in  the  city.  He 
came  out  to  this  country  just  after  the  close  of 
the  revolutionary  war,  being  induced  to  emi- 
grate by  the  pleasant  pictures  of  America,  given 
by  a  Hessian  soldier  on  his  return  from  thence. 

Dr.  Geissenhainer  had  an  energetic  and  well 
disciplined  mind,  and  was  a  man  of  extensive 
and  critical  knowledge  on  various  subjects. 
He  was  peculiarly  the  friend  of  the  poor,  both 
by  counsel  and  pecuniary  aid,  a  faithful  pastor, 
and  a  sincere  Christian.  And  his  end,  like 
that  of  all  good  men,  was  peace,  and  calm  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  155 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEENTH. 

THE  JEWS. 

Uncle.  "SVp.  have  continuod  our  conversations 
concerning  the  different  sects  of  Christians  so 
far,  in  reference  to  the  date  of  their  appearing 
in  our  city,  and  in  pursuance  of  our  plan,  we 
will  next  turn  our  attention  to  the  Jews,  and  the 
time  of  their  settling  here;  ahhough,  as  you 
know,  they  would  consider  it  no  privilege  to  be 
considered  a  Christian  sect. 

John.  That  is,    they   are   not  believers   in 
Christ. 

Uncle.  And  not  only  so,  but  through  igno- 
rance afld  perversion,  they  esteem  the  name  of 
Christ  a  reproach.  rsev(rth*eless,  as  they  bear 
so  intimate  and  interesting  a  relation  to  the 
.sirred  narrative  of  the  Bible,  there  is  much 
interest  connected  with  their  history  as  a  reli- 
gious sect.  The  first  that  we  hear  of  their 
presence  in  the  citv,  was  about  twenty  years 
after  the  surrender  by  the  Dutch,  in  1085,  when 
they  petitioned  the  governor  of  tiie  province  for 
the  liberty  of  exercising  their  own  Ibrm  of  reli- 
gion. This  reasonable  request,  the  governor 
was  inclined  to  grant;  but  upon  referring  the 
question  to  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of  the  city, 
13« 


156  THECUHRCHE8 

in  common  council,  objections  were  made,  and 
the  following-  opinion  thereupon  was  returned  : 
you  may  reiid  it,  Henry. 

Henry.  "  That  noe  publique  worship  is  tole- 
rated by  act  of  assembly,  but  to  those  that  pro- 
fesse  faith  in  Christ,  and  therefore  the  Jews' 
worship  not  to  be  allowed. 

Uncle.  Faith  in  Christ,  you  see,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  rulers  of  the  city,  was  the  necessa- 
ry requisite  for  obtaining  liberty  to  worship 
publicly  as  an  established  sect.  But  this  state 
of  things  did  not  long  remain.  As  rulers 
changed,  opinions  changed,  and  the  Jews  finally 
came  to  enjoy  the  same  privilege  that  other  de- 
nominations did. 

Henri/.  In  what  year,  sir,  did  they  attain  this 
privilege  ? 

Uncle.  Their  synagogue  in  Mill-street  wvis 
built  in  1730,  but  jt  must  have  been  a  number 
of  years  before  this  that  they  were  admitted  to 
the  common  privilege  of  free  worship:  1730 
was  quite  early,  in  the  history  of  the  city,  for 
them  to  have  a  synagogue.  It  was  about  the 
time,  you  will  recollect,  when  the  first  printed- 
newspaper  in  the  city  made  its  appearance. 

Henry.  Why  was  Mill-street  so  called,  un- 
cle? 

Uncle.  It  is  said  that  formerly  there  was  a 
mill  seat  and  water  course  there,  which  gave 
rise  to  the  name  of  the  street.  And  here  is  a 
passage  relating  to  the  subject,  in  Mr.  Watson's 


OF    NEW-YORK.  157 

collections,  which  one  of  you  may  give  us  in  his 
own  words. 

John.  "  I  once  heard  from  the  Phillips'  family, 
that  in  early  times,  when  the  Jews  first  held 
their  worship  there,  (Mill-street,)  they  had  a 
living  spring  in  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  perform  their  ablutionsand  cleansings,  accord- 
ing to  the  rights  of  their  religion.'' 

Uncle.  This  was  very  convenient  for  the 
Jews  ;  and  they  appear  to  have  lived  as  a  quiet 
and  peaceable  body  of  citizens,  undisturbed  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  privilrges,  and  experien- 
cing no  open  oppression,  until  the  year  1737, 
when  their  troubles  optncd  afresh  upon  them. 
This  was  owing  to  a  qiuslion  of  political  import 
and  interest,  which  at  that  day  created  a  great 
commotion  in  the  city.  The  particulars  of  this 
case  1  will  not  df.'tail  to  you,  but  only  enumerate 
them  so  far  as  they  afPcted  the  peace  and  popu- 
larity of  the  Jews.  Th<n,  as  in  these  times,  liie 
political  elections  were  warmly  contested.  Two 
candidale.-j  for  the  seat  in  the  Assembly  were  be- 
fore the  citizen."?,  supported  by  ojjpnsing  parties. 
( )ne  party  had  i  nlisli  d  the  favour  of  the  Jews,  by 
which  they  had  the  prospect  of  gaining  the  elec- 
tion, while  ihf  oppot<ilion  used  every  exertion  to 
counteract  their  influence;  and  for  this  purpooo 
they  obtained,  as  their  counsellor  in  the  court,  a 
Mr.  Smith,  who  was  then  one  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous lawyers  in  the  city.  The  cause  of  his 
clients  was  ultimately  gained  by  Mr.  Smith, 


^58 


THK    CHURCHES 


who  ur^ed  the  Eirgumont  that  the  Jews  were  not 
qualified  electors.  In  point  of  i'act,  this  argument 
was  not  valid  ;  but  the  object  of  the  oration  was 
obtained  by  the  mere  dint  of  his  eloquence.  A 
portion  of  the  account  given  by  Mr.  Smith,  the 
historian,  you  may  read,  as  being  a  fact  of  much 
interest  in  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  in  this  city. 
Here  it  is,  Henry. 

Henry.    "  Mr.   Murray  (the  counsel  for  the 
Jews)  drily  urged  the  authority  of  the  election 
law,  giving  a  vote  to  all   freeholders  of  compe- 
tent states,  without  excepting  the  descendants  of 
Abraham,  according  to  the  flesh  ;  and  with  as- 
tonishment heard  a  reply,  which  captivated  the 
audience  into  an  opinion,  that  the  exception  must 
be  implied  for  the  honour  of  Christianity,  and 
the  preservation  of  the  constitution.    The  whole 
history  of  the  conduct  of  England  against  the 
Jews  was  displayed  on  this  occasion,  and  argu- 
ments   thence   artfully   deduced   against   their 
claims  to  the  civil  rignts  of  citizenship.     After 
expressing  the  emotions  of  pity  naturally  arising 
upon  a  detail  of  their  sufierings,  under  the  avari- 
cious and  barbarous  policy  of  ancient  times,  he 
turned  the  attention  of  his  hearers  to  that  mystery 
of  love  and  terror  manifested  in  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ;  and  so  pathetically  described  the  bloody 
tragedy  at  Mount  Calvary,  that  a  member  cried 
out  with  agony  and  in  tears,  beseeching  him  to 
desist.and  declaring  his  conviction.   Many  others 
v.'ept;  and  the  unfortunate  Israelites  were  con- 


OF    N  E  W - Y  O  K  K  . 


159 


lent  to  lose  their  votes,  could  they  escape  with 
their  lives;  for  some  auditors  of  weak  nerves 
and  strong  zeal,  were  so  inflamed  by  this  oratory, 
that,  but  for  the  interpositions  of  their  dema- 
gogues, and  the  votes  of  the  house  in  their  favour 
the  whole  tribe  in  this  dispersion  would  have 
been  massacred  that  very  day,  for  the  sin  of  tlieir 
ancestors  in  crucifying  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and 
imprecating  his  innocent  blood  upon  them- 
selves and  their  children.''  Why,  sir,  they 
came  near  killing  them  ! 

Uncle.  So  our  historian  informs  us.  And 
this  singular  fact  goes  to  show  us  how  great 
power  men  of  eloquence  have  over  others,  and 
how  the  heated  passions  of  men  often  hurry 
then)  on  to  deeds  of  violence  and  wickedness. 
But  we  should  sufler  no  eloquence,  on  any  oc- 
casion, to  pfMsiiade  us  to  what  is  wrong,  or 
subvert  our  belter  judgment.  And  if  you  will 
lake  notice,  you  will  sec  that  the  historian  re- 
fers this  high  transport  of  passion  only  to  men 
of  "  weak  nerves  and  strong  zeal," — such  zeal 
as  was  without  knowledge. 

Thus  the  votes  of  the  Israelites  were  re- 
jected, and  they  themselves,  for  a  while,  de- 
prived of  the  common  rights  of  citizenship. 

The  cily  records  show,  that  in  1728,  the 
Jews  applied  for  a  .spot  to  be  used  by  them  as  a 
burying  ground.  A  lot  was  accordingly  grant- 
ed them,  1  12  feet  lonir  and  .^O  broad,  nrar  tho 
Crippli'  Bush  or   Htcamp,  oppo.'iile  to  what   is 


160  T  n  E    C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 

now  Cliathain-squave,  on  Oliver-street,  then,  a 
long  distance  oiat  of  the  city.  Their  burial 
ground  remains  in  the  same  spot  still,  and  has 
so  far  escaped  the  disturbance  which  so  many 
other  of  these  sacred  grounds  in  our  city  have 
met  with,  from  the  hand  of  enterprise  and  ijn- 
provemcnt. 

AVe  will  now  devote  a  moment  or  two  to 
their  synagogues.  And  on  this  subject,  Henry 
may  read  to  us  the  account  given  by  Mr.  Good- 
rich, in  his  Picture  of  New-York.  Here  it  is. 
He  wrote  in  1828,  when  the  synagogue  in  Mill- 
street  was  still  standing. 

Hennj.  "  The  Jews'  Synagogue,  in  Mill- 
street,  built  1730,  and  rebuilt  in  1818,  is  a  stone 
edifice,  58  by  35  feet.  The  worship  is  here 
performed  in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  in  the 
same  manner  and  form  as  in  ancient  times. 
Strangers  are  admitted,  but  females  are  all  ac- 
commodated with  seats  in  the  gallery;  the  ser- 
vice begins  on  Friday  evening  at  sunset,  and  is 
continued  on  Saturday  morning  at  ten  o'clock. 
It  is  highly  curious  and  impressive.  The  for- 
mer Rabbi,  Rev.  G.  Seixas,  here  officiated  for 
50  years  regularly.  The  interior  ornaments 
are  elegant  and  costly.  A  lamp  is  kept  per- 
petually burning  before  the  ark.  The  ark  is 
the  sacred  depository  of  the  Book  of  the  Law, 
(of  which  a  valuable  manuscript  copy  of  great 
antiquity  belongs  to  the  congregation,)  and  is  of 
a  semicircular  form,  constructed   in  the  most 


O  F    N  E  AV  -  Y  O  R  K .  161 

finished  style  of  workmanship,  of  curled  mnple 
and  satin  wood,  with  slidin<r  doors.  The  Rev. 
Mr,  Peixotto  is  the  present  fiabbi. 

It  is  upwards  of  a  century  since  the  Mill- 
ftreet  congregation  was  established,  and  few,  if 
any.  of  tlie  members  then  resided  above  Wall- 
street.  The  increase  of  onr  cily  has  left  few 
families  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  this,  with 
the  great  increase,  and  the  continued  arrivals 
from  the  continent  of  Europe,  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  erect  a  new  temple.  Accordingly,  a 
new  sijnagogua  has  been  purchased  in  Elm- 
street,  north  of  Canal-street,  formerly  the  African 
(.'hurch,  and  has  been  elegantly  fiued  up  by  the 
German  and  I'olish  Jews,  whose  form  of  prayer 
is  somewhat  dissiniilnr  to  the  Portuguese.  The 
interior,  though  small,  is  finished  in  a  rich  and 
neat  style. 

A  row  of  pillars  support.s  the  gallery,  which 
has  a  railing  of  carvfd  mahogany.  The  read- 
ing desk,  or  pulpit,  wliich  stands  in  the  centre, 
facing  the  east,  is  of  Mahugany,  enclosed  with- 
in a  railing  of  fret-work.  The  ark,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  church,  and  facing  the  desk,  for 
the  reception  of  the  law.  is  largo  and  circular, 
of  curled  maple  and  mahogany,  with  a  dome, 
supported  with  Ionic  columns,  with  caps  and 
bases.  The  ten  commandments  in  front,  are  of 
raised  golden  letters,  on  white  marble,  support- 
ed by  gold  cornucopias.  In  front  of  the  holy 
receptacle  gf  the  law,  hangs  a  rich  curtain  of 


162  Til  i:    CHURCHES 

blue  satin,  elejrantly  embroidered  with  Hebrew 
inscriptions  ; — the  interior  of"  the  ark  opens  with 
sliding  doors,  and  is  lined  with  the  same  mate- 
rial. The  centre  chandelier,  together  with  four 
smaller  ones,  and  clusters  of  astral  lamps  over 
the  gallery,  with  the  candelabras,  are  richly 
finished  with  bronze  and  gold,  the  whole  being 
splendid  and  in  good  taste." 

Uncle.  This  was  writtin  some  years  ago, 
and  since  then,  the  old  Mill-street  synagogue 
has  been  removed  entirely. 

'J'he  number  of  synagogues,  in  our  city,  has, 
since  then,  been  increased  by  one.  They  are 
now  as  follows : — one  in  Crosby-street  near 
Spring,  of  which  Mr.  Seixas  is  Kabbi ;  the 
second  in  Elm-street,  as  noticed  above,  of  which 
Mr.  Hart  is  Rabbi ;  and  the  third  in  Centre- 
street,  where  Mr.  Samuclson  ofiiciates.  But 
while  the  Jews  are  thus  well  supplied  with 
synagogues,  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  many 
of  this  interesting  people  have  so  far  forgotten 
the  sacred  claims  of  their  own  national  reli- 
gion, as  seldom  to  step  their  feet  within  the 
portals  of  a  temple. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  163 

CHAPTER  NINETEENTH. 

THE   PRESBVTEUIAN   CHURCH. 

Uncle.  We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  the  City  of  New-York. 
This  body  of  Christians,  so  flourishing  now, 
was  not  known  here  until  about  tho  year  1706. 
Their  nunnber  was  then  small,  and  having  yet 
no  organized  church,  they  were  in  the  constant 
practice  of  meetinir  in  some  convenient,  thotigh 
private  place,  where  their  worship  was  con- 
ducted among  themselves :  some  of  their  own 
number  taking  the  lead  in  praying,  singing, 
and  expounding  the  .Scriptures. 

Henry.  Where  the  Presbyterians  of  New- 
York  the  first  known  in  America  t 

Uncle.  They  were  avtong  the  first,  although 
the  first  presl/ytcrirs  formed  in  this  country 
were  at  Charleston  and  Philadelphia,  near  the 
year  1704.  There  were  also  several  regular 
congregations  of  i*re.sbyferians  some  time  be- 
fore this.  The  names  of  those  who  composed 
the  presbytery  of  I'hiladdphia,  wcTf;,  Kev. 
Francis  M'.Memie,  John  Wilson,  Jcdidiah  An- 
drews, Nathaniel  Taylor,  George  M'Ni.':h,and 
Samuel  T);i\i(s.  Tin;  first  mentioned,  liic  Ucv. 
Francii  M'lvemic,  visited  Ncw-YoiU  in  1707, 
14 


16-1  THE    CHURCHES 

and  wns  cruelly  rsnd  barbarously  used  by  Lord 
Cornbury,  who  w;~s  then  governor  of  the  pro- 
A'ince.  Lord  Cornbuiy,  as  we  have  seen  before, 
was  a  violent  churchman,  and  suflertd  his  sec- 
tarian zeal  to  transport  him  far  beyond  all  the 
bounds  of  tnoderatiun  and  justice. 

John.  Wc  remember,  sir,  j-our  mention  of 
his  conduct  towards  the  minister  at  Jamaica, 
Long  Island. 

Uncle.  And  his  base  treatment  of  Mr. 
M'Kemie  was  hardly  les.s  glaring.  This  cler- 
gyman, on  his  arrival  in  the  city,  had  made  an 
engagement  to  preach  in  the  old  Dutch  Church, 
in  Garden-street,  when  he  was  peremptorily 
forbidden  the  attempt  by  the  imperious  Lord. 
Having  preached,  however,  to  a  small  audience, 
collected  in  a  private  house,  in  some  part  of 
Pearl-street,  he  was  apprehended  and  confined 
by  order  of  the  governor,  for  two  months,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  having  given  bail  for 
his  appearance  at  court,  he  was  set  at  liberty. 
On  his  trial,  however,  he  was  acquitted  :  though 
through  the  prejudice  of  the  governor  and  the 
court,  he  was  not  discharged  until  he  had  paid 
the  whole  costs  of  the  prosecution,  which 
amounted  to  nearly  three  hundred  dollars;  a 
heavy  fine  for  an  unoircndiug  minister  to  pay, 
and  cruelly  imposed.  But  the  next  year,  1708, 
to  the  great  joy  of  ail,  Lord  Cornbury  was  re- 
moved from  the  government.  From  this  time 
the  Presbyterians  increased  very  rapidly.     In 


O  F    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  165 

1716,  a  plan  was  conceived  of  forming  a  regular 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  settling  a  stated 
pistor.  Measures  were  taken  accordingly,  and 
the  Rev.  James  Anderson,  a  Scotch  clergyman, 
who  had  been  preaching  at  New  Castle,  Dela- 
ware, was  called  to  be  their  first  pastor. 

Jokn.  Where  was  their  cliurch,  sir,  at  that 
lime? 

Uncle.  They  had  no  church-building  yet: 
and  for  three  years  they  met  in  the  old  City 
Hall,  which  stood  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and 
Nassau  streets,  fronting  upon  Brood-street. 
But,  Dr.  John  Nicoll.  Patrick  M'Night,  Gilbert 
Livingston,  and  Thomas  S;nith.  having  pur- 
chased a  piece  of  ground  on  Wall-street,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  ni.'W  church  in  1719. 
This  was  the  first  Presbyterian  edifice  ever 
erected  in  New-York,  and  stood  on  precisely 
the  same  site  that  the  present  Wall-street  Church 
occupies. 

Henry.  Was  it  as  large  as  the  present  one? 

Uncle.  Not  quite.  You  would  be  amused 
by  a  representation  of  it,  that  an  estimable  citi- 
zen of  former  days.  Mr.  David  Gritn,  left,  as  it 
appeared  in  174'2.  It  was  a  small  wooden 
building,  with  no  steeple  or  bell,  and  with  only- 
three  .small  windows  on  each  side;  much  un- 
like the  towering  edifices  that  have  since  adorn- 
ed the  spot. 

In  17-^1,  they  petitioned  Colonel  Schuyli^r, 
who  then  had  the  chief  command  in  the  colony. 


166  THK    CHURCHES 

for  an  act  of  incorporation,  but  were  disappoint- 
ed in  their  expectations,  through  the  opposition 
made  by  the  Trinity  Church  vestry-men.  A 
similar  effort  was  made  repeatedly  to  obtain  a 
charter,  but  as  often  proved  unsuccessful ;  till, 
at  length,  in  1/74,  the  petition,  through  the 
kind  interference  of  Governor  Tryon,  was 
favourably  received  in  England ;  the  charter 
was  accordingly  drafted,  and  ready  for  trans- 
mission, when  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolu- 
tionary war  rendered  all  farther  process  in  re- 
lation to  a  charter  from  the  British  government 
unnecessary.  In  1722,  a  small  number  of  the 
members  of  this  church  withdrew,  and  meeting 
statedly  in  a  building  in  William-street,  between 
Liberty  and  Pine  streets,  called  the  Rev,  Jona- 
than Edwards,  afterwards  President  of  Prince- 
ton College,  to  be  their  pas'.or. 

Mr.  Edwards  accepted  their  call,  and 
preached  to  them  for  nearly  a  year,  when 
he  returned  to  New-Haven ;  and  the  sepa- 
rated body  soon  after  connected  themselves 
again  with  the  Wall-street  Church.  In  1726, 
Mr.  Anderson  was  succeeded  in  his  pas- 
toral office  by  Mr.  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  from 
BostoQ. 

John.  But  what  became  of  Mr.  Anderson 
after  this,  sir  ? 

Uncle.  1  was  about  to  tell  you,  that  before  he 
left  the  New-York  church,  he  received  a  call 
from  a  congregation  in  New  Donnegal,  Penn- 


OF    NEW-YOKK.  167 

sylvania ;  where  he  settled.  Mr.  Pemberton 
remained  a  successful  pastor  for  many  years. 
It  was  in  his  time  tliat  Mr.  Whitefield  first 
visited  the  city,  and  he  was  the  only  minister  in 
New-York  who  welcomed  that  minister  to  his 
pulpit.  But  his  hospitality  was  richly  repaid. 
Mr.  Whitefield's  labours,  you  know,  were  very 
much  blessed,  in  the  conversion  of  many  who 
afterwards  became  firm  and  useful  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  church  at  this 
time,  enjoyed  quite  an  extensive  revival  of  re- 
liarion,  and  iho  congregation  was  very  much 
enlarged.  Do  either  of  you  remember  the 
date  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  first  visit  to  New-York, 
about  which  we  conversed  some  time  ago? 

Hury.  My  notes  say  it  was  the  year   1740. 

Uncle.  Yes;  and  eight  years  afterwards, 
owinj^  to  the  increase  of  stated  worsliippers,  the 
church  edifice  was  rebuilt,  and  enlarged.  And 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Cumming,  then  pastor  of  a 
church  in  New-Brunswick,  was  in  1750  install- 
ed collegiate  pa.*lor  with  Mr.  [*emberton.  But 
these  two  pa.stors  resigned  nboiit  the  year  17.53; 
Mr.  Cunmiing  from  ill  lieallli,  and  Mr.  Pember- 
ton on  account  of  some  difficulties  that  had 
arisr-n  amontr  his  people  concerning  the  intro- 
duction of  the  use  of  Watts'  instead  of  Rouse's 
psilms  and  hymns  into  the  public  worship. 
The  church  were  extremely  sorry  to  part  with 
either  of  them,  but  especially  Mr.  Pi-mberton, 
who  had  been  so  long  their  devoted  pastor,  and 
1 4* 


168 


THE    CHURCHES 


friend.  Attempts  to  prevail  on  him  to  remain 
proved  unsuccossiul,  as  heconsidered  it  his  duty 
to  go.  Henry  may  read  to  us  what  Mr.  Smith, 
whom  I  have  before  introduced  to  you  as  the 
New- York  historian,  says  of  Mr.  Pemberton, 
and  the  church  in  Wall-street.  You  may  stop 
at  the  end  of  tlie  fifih  line  of  the  Latin  inscription. 
Henry.  "  Rev.  Mr.  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  was 
a  man  of  polite  breeding-,  fine  morals,  and  warm 
devotion;  under  whose  incessant  labours  the 
congregation  greatly  increased,  and  was  enabled 
to  erect  the  present  edifice,  1748.  It  is  built  of 
stone,  railed  ofT  IVom  the  street,  is  eighty  feet 
long,  and  in  breadth  sixty.  The  steeple  raised 
on  the  southwest  end,  is  in  height  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet.  In  the  front  to  the  street,  be- 
tween two  long  windows,  is  the  following  in- 
scription, gilt  and  cut  in  a  black  slate,  six  feet  in 
length ; — ■ 

"AuspicANTo  Deo 
Hanc    JF,Dv.yi 

CULTUI    DIVI."?0   SACR  V.M    IN    PKRPJSTUUM    CELEBRANDO, 
A.  D.   MDCCXIX. 

Primo  fundatam  ;"  &c. 

The  translation  I  leave  to  you,  uncle. 

Uncle.  It  is  simply  this  : — •"  Bt/  the.  favour  of 
God,  tltis  sacred  tem-pLe  for  the  continual  cele- 
bration of  Divine  worship,  was  first  founded 
Anno  Domini,  1719,  <^c.;"  it  afterwards  states 


OF    NEW- YORK.  169 

the  year  in  which  it  was  ropaircd,  and  by  whom 
it  was  erected.  Mr.  Smith,  in  the  next  para- 
graph, speaks  of  Mr.  Cutnming-  as  a  "young 
man  of  learning  and  penetration." 


CHAPTER   TWENTIETH. 

THE  PRESBVTERIAN  rnURCH — CONTINUED. 

Uncle.  The  difRcuhies  in  the  Preybyterian 
Church,  which  had  occasioned  Mr.  Pemberton's 
removal,  unhappily  contiiuKd  for  nearly  six 
years;  when  Mr.  David  Bostwick,  from  Ja- 
maica, Lon;,'-  Island,  accepted  their  call;  and 
the  party  still  clinging  lo  the  old  system  of 
psalmody  withdrew,  and  formed  a  new  church. 
Mr.  Bcistwick.  was  installrd  in  the  summer  of 
1756;  and  the  nfw  church  were  successful  in 
sending  a  call  to  Mr.  John  Mason,  of  Scotland, 
who  settled  as  tlir  ir  minister,  in  1701. 

Henry.  Where  did  the  new  congregation 
worship  / 

Unrle.  In  Crdar-strert,  betwrrn  Broadway 
and  Nassau-strof-t,  where  they  built  a  church, 
which  stood  until  a  few  years  ago;  when  it  was 
torn  down  to  make  room  for  stores.  Mr.  Mason 
was  succeeded  by  his  sun,  the  late  Kev.  John 


170  Til  i;    CHURCHES 

M.  Mason,  D.  D.,  who  was  also  the  first  pastor 
of  the  Murray-street  Presbyterian  Church. 
Mr.  M'Cloud,  was  afierwar.is  settled  over  this 
church,  who,  again,  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
M'Elroy,  the  present  pastor,  in  1824.  The 
congregation  now  worship  in  a  beautiful  edifice 
in  Graod-street,near  ilsjunction  with  Broadway. 
But  to  return;  the  Wall-street  ChurcJj,  at  the 
time  of  Mr.  Bustwicks  settlement,  notwithstand- 
ing the  dissensioiis  concerning  the  psalmody, 
was  very  flourisliiii';,  and  the  congregation  num- 
bered twelve  or  fourteen  hundred  souls.  Mr. 
Smith  has  left  us  a  kw  remarks  concerning  Mr. 
Bostwick  also,  which  one  of  you  may  read. 

John.  "  lie  is  a  gentleman  of  mild,  Catholic 
disposition  ;  and  being  a  man  of  piety,  prudence, 
and  zeal,  confines  himself  entirely  to  the  proper 
busines.s  of  his  function.  In  the  art  of  preaching, 
he  is  one  of  the  distinguished  clergymen  in 
these  parts.  His  discourses  are  methodical, 
sound,  and  pathetic ;  in  sentiment,  and  in  point 
of  diction,  singularly  ornamented.  Redelivers 
himself  without  notes,  and  yet  with  great  ease 
and  fluency  of  expression  ;  and  performs  every 
part  of  Divine  wor.«hip  with  a  striking  solem- 
nity." 

Uncle.  Mr.  Smith,  Avas  a  cotemporary  of 
Mr.  Bostwick,  and  --'oubiless  knew  him  well. 
In  the  coursf'  of  -.,  ^ew  years,  Mr.  Bostwick's 
health  began  to  decline,  and  this  so  seriously 
intenupied  his  labours,  that  the  church  gave  a 


OF    NK  W-YORK.  171 

call  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Treat,  who  settled  as 
collegiate  pastor  in  1762.  The  illness  of  Mr. 
Bostwick,  to  the  great  grief  of  his  people,  soon 
ended  in  death.  After  this  event,  a  call  was 
sent  to  the  Rev.  John  Rougers,  and  accepted ; 
and  in  1765,  he  commenced  his  pastorallabours 
in  New-York.  The  installation  sermon  on 
this  occasion,  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  James 
Caldwell,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  New-Jersey. 

Hennj.  Was  this  the  Islr.  Caldwell  that  was 
in  the  Revolutionary  v.ar  ] 

Uncle.  The  same,  1  believe.  He  was  a  very 
active  patriot;  and  so  much  engaged  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  that  he  was  made  a  quarter- 
master in  the  army.  He  met  his  death,  you 
will  recollect,  by  an  accidental  shot. 

Hcnrij.  And  his  wife  was  also  killed  during 
the  war. 

Uncle.  Inhumanly  muidortd;  if  we  may 
credit  history.  It  is  said  that  a  cruel  Hessian 
discharged  his  musket  into  her  bnsom,  as  she 
sat  at  the  window  of  her  house  with  an  infant  in 
her  arms.  Thus  bloody  are  the  deeds  of  war. 
Let  us  sincerely  pray  for  the  happy  time,  when 
nations  shall  learn  war  no  more,  but  when  they 
shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning  hooks,  and  Christ 
shall  be  Lord  and  Judg<!  among  tlic  nations. 

Under  Mr.  Rodger.s  ministerial  labours,  the 
church  and  conijregation  so  rapidly  increased, 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  provide  for  the 


172  THE    CHURCHES 

erection  of  another  place  of  worship.  Accord- 
iiiglv,  ill  17GG,  the  foundation  of  a  new  meeting- 
house was  laid  in  Bctkmunstrect,  bawecn  Nas- 
sau-street and  Park  Row,  which  was  completed 
in  the  course  of  the  next  year.  Mr.  Hodgers 
preached  the  dedication  sermon  on  Jan.  1st,  17  68. 

Jolni.  This  was  known  as  "  The  Brick  Meet- 
ing-House,'"  was  it  not,  sir? 

Uncle.  Yesj  and  ^\•hen  first  built,  was  so  far 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  that  it  was  commonly 
said  to  be  in  (he  fields.  Mr.  Rodgers  continued 
the  successful  pastor  of  these  two  churches 
until  1775,  when  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revo- 
lution interrupted  for  a  while  his  useful  labours. 
The  two  Presbyterian,  suffered  in  common  with 
other  churches,  from  the  depredations  of  the 
reckless  soldiery.  They  were  completely  strip- 
ped of  every  thing  within,  ornamental  or  useful ; 
pews,  gallevies,  and  floors,  were  alike  torn  up, 
and  the  whole  were  left,  when  the  British  evacu- 
ated the  city,  mere  naked  shells.  In  Nov.  1 783, 
Dr.  Rodgers  and  Mr.  Treat,  with  the  greater 
part  of  their  Hock,  returned  to  the  city,  and  com- 
menced repairing  their  shattered  edifices.  In 
the  meantime,  by  the  kind  invitation  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  they  worshipp<d  in  St. 
George's  and  St.  Pauffe  churchfs.  'I'he  Brick 
Church  was  repaired  by  June  1784,  but  the  one 
in  Wall-street  not  till  the  succeeding  June,  1785. 
They  were  now  able  to  .support  but  one  pastor, 
and  the  pastoral  relation  of  Mr.  Treat  was  accord- 


OF    XEW-YOUK.  173 

in^ly  dissolved  in  1784.  But  in  August  of  the 
next  year,  another  minister,  Mr.  James  Wilson, 
from  Scotland,  was  called  and  settled  as  a 
colleague  ol  Dr.  Rodgers.  Mr.  Wilson  continu- 
ed his  charge  for  three  years,  when,  on  account 
of  ill  health,  he  was  at  his  own  request  dismiss- 
ed. The  Rev.  John  M" Knight  succeeded  him, 
but  his  health  failing,  Mr.  Samuel  Miller,  a 
licentiate  of  Lewes'  Presbytery,  I^.id.,  was  called, 
and  installed  June  5,  1793.  In  May,  1798,  a 
third  church  was  erected,  on  a  lot  of  ground, 
given  for  the  purpose  by  Col.  Henry  Rutgers, 
at  the  corner  of  Rutgers'  and  Henry-streets. 
Another  associate  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mille- 
doler,  of  Philadelphia,  was  now  settled.  In 
1809,  these  three  churches,  which  had  hitherto 
been  associate,  and  under  one  eldership,  were 
divided  into  three  distinct  churches.  Dr.  Rod- 
gcrs  remained  as  common  pastor  to  the  Wall 
and  Bei.'kman  street  churchrs,  with  Dr.  Miller 
as  his  colleague  over  theAVall-street  one  ;  while 
Dr.  MillidoJor  continued  his  connection,  as  sole 
pastor,  with  the  Rutgers'  street  Church.  Since 
1809,  the  number  of  Pn-sbyterian  churches  has 
very  much  increased.  How  many  do  you  count 
on  this  list,  John  'f 

John.  Twenty-nine,  sir. 

Uncle.  An  astonishing  increase  in  thirty 
years.  They  have  sprung  up  on  every  side; 
and  their  histories,  as  a  matter  rf  consequence, 
are  short,  and  of  but  little  interest  compared 


174  THE    CHURCHES 

witli  those  of  churches  that  have  existed  for  one 
or  two  centuries.  We  wiJl  consider  them 
separatel)^  and  in  the  order  of  time  as  to  their 
origin,  commencing  of  course  with  the  oldest 
one. 

Henry.  That  is  the  Wall-street  Church, 

Uncle.  Which  in  old  times,  was  calhd  The 
Presbyterian  Church,  since  for  a  half  century  it 
was  the  only  one  in  the  city.  This  church  con- 
tin  urd  to  enjoy  the  labours  of  Dr.  Rodgers  until 
his  death  in  1811.  In  1813,  Dr.  Miller  was 
called  to  the  Theological  Seminary,  Princeton. 
The  Rev.  P.  M.  Wlielplcy  was  his  successor; 
who,  in  his  turn,  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
Wm.  W.  Philips,  D.  D.,  the  present  pastor.  In 
1810,  before  Dr.  Rodgers'  death,  the  old  build- 
ing was  torn  down  and  a  new  one  erected. 
This  was  burned  in  the  summer  of  1834,  but  has 
again  been  rebuilt,  with  the  same  exterior  walls, 
which  were  left  uninjured  by  the  fire. 

Henry.  Dr.  Rodgers  must  have  been  an  old 
man  at  his  death. 

Uncle.  Yes:  he  Avas  well  advanced  in  life, 
having  attained  his  eighty-third  year.  Among 
other  faculties,  his  memory  began  to  fail  him 
before  he  gave  up  his  pastoral  duties;  so  much 
so,  that,  as  I  have  oft'jii  heard  related  by  one  who 
recollects  well  the  venerable  pastor,  he  would 
frequently,  in  the  church  prayer-meetings,  give 
out  a  favourite  hymn  for  the  second  or  third 
time,  not  knowing  that  he  had  given  it  out  be- 


OF    X  E  W-Y  ORK.  175 

fore.  He  came  to  the  grave  like  a  shock  of 
corn,  fully  ripe.  Here,  John,  you  may  read  to 
us  what  the  Rev.  Mr.  Owen  saj's  of  him,  in  his 
valuable  sketch  of  the  Presbyterian  churchep. 

John.  "  Of  Dr.  Rodgers  it  may  be  said,  that 
he  -was  under  God  the  father  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  city  of  New-York.  He  was  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  si.xty  two-years,  forty-six 
of  which  he  spent  in  New- York.  At  his  death, 
the  pulpits  of  all  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
the  city  were  hung  in  mourning,  and  in  most 
of  the  churches  funeral  sermons  were  delivered. 
He  was  the  fiirsl  moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST. 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH — CONTINUED. 

Uncle.  We  will  proceed  with  our  view  of 
the  Presbyterian  ("hurchcs.  Next  to  the  Wall- 
street,  comes  which?  Henry. 

Henry.  The  Brick  Church,  sir,  in  Bcckman- 
rtreet 

Uncle.  Or  the  "  Brick  Mreting,"  as  it  wag 
sometimes  familiarly  calUd  l)y  the  old  iniiabi- 
tants.  Dr.  Rodgers,  who,  you  know,  was  its 
Id 


THE    C  11  U  R  C  H  E  S 


collegiate  pastor  at  the  time  the  associate 
churches  were  separated,  remained  its  sole 
pastor  after  that  event,  until  his  growing  infir- 
mities admonished  him,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
remit  his  active  labours,  and  the  congregation, 
on  the  other,  to  seek  for  ministerial  aid  else- 
where. Accordingly,  a  short  time  before  this 
venerable  pastor  took  his  final  leave  of  earthly- 
things,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardiner  Spring,  a  licen- 
tiate" of  a  Massachusetts'  association,  accepted 
the  unanimous  call  of  the  church,  and  was  set- 
tled as  their  minister  in  August,  1810.  On  the 
occasion  of  the  ordination  and  installation  of 
Dr.  Spring,  Dr.  Rodgers  was  present,  and 
"united  for°the  last  time^'in  the  laying  on  of  the 
hands  of  the  Presbytery."  Dr.  Spring  still 
continues  the  pastor  of  the  Brick  Church. 

John.  As  he  was  settled  in  1810,  he  must 
have  been  their  pastor  for  more  than  twenty- 
eight  years. 

Uncle.  And  has  held  his  charge  for  a  longer 
period  than  any  oiher  Presbyterian  minister  now 
in  the  city.  'Twenty-four  new  Presbyterian 
churches  have  sprung  up  around  him  in  this 
growing  metropolis,  since  he  first  began  his 
labours  within  its  bounds. 

Henry.  What  changes  he  has  seen  ! 

Uncle.  For  a  year  or  two  past,  there  has 
been  some  talk  of  removing  the  Brick  Meeting 
House,  to  make  room  for  a  post-office  building; 
but  I  believe  that  the  danger  is  now  past,  and 


OF    XEW-YORIC.  177 

the  venerable  edifice  will  still  continue  to  grace 
our  city,  and  serve  for  many  years  to  come,  as 
a  temple  for  the  ^Yorship  of  the  Most  High. 
The  Uiird,  was  the  Rutgers' -strett  Church, 
dedicated  on  the  13th  of  Alay,  1798.  Its  first 
pastor  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Millcdoler,  who  re- 
signed in  1813.  In  1815,  Dr.  M'Clelland  was 
installed  as  pastor,  which  relation  he  held  until 
December.  1621.  He  is  now  professor  in  the 
New-Brunswick  Theological  Seminary.  Dr. 
M'Clelland  was  succeeded  in  1822  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  M'Auley,  L.  L.  D.,  formerly  professor  in 
Union  College,  Schenectady,  who  was  dismis- 
sed in  1829.  The  labours  of  Dr.  M'Auley  in 
this  congregation  were  exceedingly  blessed.  It 
then  had  the  largest  number  of  communicants 
of  any  church  in  the  city.  The  Sabbath  school 
at  one  time  embraced  a  thousand  children.  On 
his  rrsignalion,  in  1829,  Dr.  M'Auley  removed 
to  Philadelphia,  and  settled  in  one  of  the 
churches  of  that  city.  He  has  since  returned 
to  New-Yoric,  and  is  now  the  pastor  of  the 
Murraystrret  Presbyterian  Church.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  New-York  Theological 
Seminary.  'J'he  Rev.  Mr.  Krehs,  the  pr<  sent 
pastor,  wnssrttled  November  12,  1830.  Which 
church  is  ne.\t  in  order,  Hrnry? 

Henry.  According   to   the   list   which    you 
handfd  us,  it  is  the  Scotch  P resbyterian  Church. 

Unr/p.   This  we  have  aln-ady  nolictd.      The 
next,  in  point  of  age,  is  the  Pcari-slrcct  Church. 


THE    CHURCHES 


This  was  organized  about  llie  year  1800,  and 
was  at  first  under  the  care  of  the  Re\'.  John  M. 
Mason,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  Robert  Forrest. 
Mr.  Forrest  left  in  1808,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  John  Clark,  1810;  Rev.  W.  W.  Phil- 
lips, D.  D.,  1818;  Rev.  Walter  Monteith,  1826; 
Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  1829  ;  and  Rev. 
Henry  A.  Rowland,  1833,  who  still  continues 
in  the  pastoral  charge.  When  first  built,  this 
church  was  quite  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city. 
To  the  east  of  it,  the  ground  was  very  low,  and 
the  "fresh  water  pond,"  as  it  was  called,  came 
almost  up  to  the  verjf  spot  where  it  stood.  An 
old  citizen  told  me,  the  other  day,  that  he  well 
remembered  the  bridges  over  the  marsh,  on 
which  those,  who  came  to  church  from  the 
easterly  parts  of  the  town,  were  obliged  to 
cross,  and  without  which  there  could  have  been 
no  passing  there.  These  low  places  have  since 
been  all  filled  in,  and  are  now  covered  with 
houses. 

Henry.  Was  not  this  church  burnt  down 
last  year? 

Uncle.  Yes,  and  the  congregation  are  now 
rebuilding  on  the  same  spot. 

Jokn.  The  Canal-slrtct  Church  is  the  next, 
sir. 

Uncle.  This  church  was  first  located  in 
Orange,  near  Grand-street,  and  was  dedicated 
in  1809.     It  was  afterwards  commonly  known 


OF    NEW-YORK.  179 

as  the  "  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,"  and  its 
first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Neice. 

John.  Why  called  the  "Irish"  Church,  sir? 

Uncle.  Because  the  congregation  was  prin- 
cipally composed  of  Presbyterians  from  Ire- 
land. In  1825,  they  disposed  of  their  old  edi- 
fice, and  erected  a  new  one  in  Canal-street,  near 
Greene.  It  is  now  known  as  the  Canal-street 
Church.  The  Orange-street  building  is  now 
used  by  the  Evangelical  Lutherans.  Mr. 
M'Neice  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Henry  Blatch- 
ford,  in  IS  15 ;  and  he  by  the  Rev.  John  Albur- 
tis.  in  1819.  In  1821, the  Rev.  Robert  M'Cartee, 
D.  D.,  succeeded  Mr.  Alburtis,  and  resigned  in 
1836. 

The  next  is  the  Duane-slrcel  Church.  This 
was  founded  in  1800,  and  the  edifice  erected,  in 
1808,  on  Cedar,  near  William-street.  The 
Rev.  John  B.  Romeyn,  of  Albany,  was  their 
first  pastor.  He  preached  until  his  death, 
which  happened  on  the  22d  of  February,  1825. 
His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Mason,  who 
was  ordained  and  installed  in  his  pastoral  office 
December  7ih,  1H2G.  In  1831,  the  congrega- 
tion disposed  of  their  edifice  in  Cedar-street,  and 
erected  a  new  one  at  the  corner  of  Duane  and 
Church  streets;  whence  comes  their  presmt 
name.  In  1885,  Mr.  .Ma.son  took  a  dismission 
from  his  charge,  and  removed  to  Providence, 
R  I.  ;  but  rcuiriiinglo  New- York  the  succeed- 
ing year,  he  was  called  to  fill  a  professorship 
15* 


180  THE    CHURCHES 

in  the  New- York  Un^vers^t3^  where  he  still 
remains.  His  successor  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Potts, 
from  iMissisoippi.     What  is  the  next,  John? 

John.  The  Murray-street  Church,  sir. 
Uncle.  The  Murray-street  Church  was  or- 
ganized about  the  your  1810.  The  Rev.  John 
M.  Mason,  D.  D.,  its  first  pastor;  continued  his 
labours  there  from  the  year  of  its  foundation 
till  1822,  when,  on  account  of  ill-health,  he 
removed  to  Carlisle,  Pa,;  but  returning  to  the 
city  in  the  course  of  two  years,  he  died  m  1829. 
His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Snodgrass, 
who,  in  1834,  removed  to  Troy.  The  pastoral 
office  is  at  present  filled  by  the  Rev.  Dr, 
M'Auley,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  in 
reference  to  the  Rutgers' -street  Church.  The 
Murray-street  Presbyterian  Church,  is  justly 
spoken  of  by  strangers,  as  one  of  the  most 
finished  specimens  of  architecture  that  our 
city  churches  afl!brd.  Its  high  steeple,  tower- 
ing far  above  all  the  surrounding  buildings,  ex- 
hibits to  the  beholder  a  fine  specimen  of  sym- 
metry and  beauty.     But  to  pass  on  : 

The  Laii>ht-strcet  C'lurch  was  organized 
in  May,  1811,  with  the  Rev.  Matthew  La 
Rue  Perrine,  D.  D.,  for  its  first  pastor.  His 
successor  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuol  H.  Cox, 
who,  in  1835,  was  called  to  act  as  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  Pastoral  Theology,  in  Auburn 
Seminary.  Dr.  Cox  is  now  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I.     Hia 


OF    NEW- YORK.  181 

successor,  in  the  Liight-street  Church,  is  the 
Rzv.  Flivel  S.  Mines,  ibrmerly  seaman's  chap- 
lain al  Hivre,  iu  France. 

The  Sufe'iik  Prcsbi/tcrian  Church  was  or- 
ganized on  the  llth  of  M;irch,  1818.  Their 
first  baiUinTf  was  in  SherifT-street,  near  DeJan- 
cy.  In  1825,  they  erected  another  one  on 
Brooms,  corner  of  Ridje-street.  This  was 
burnt  to  the  ground  in  1831,  but  was  rebuilt  the 
next  year.  Mr.  Elihu  W.  Baldwin,  their  first 
pastor,  preached  until  the  year  183.5,  when  he 
was  elected  president  of  Wabash  College,  In- 
diana, to  which  state  he  removed.  He  was 
succeeded  by  the  Kev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  who 
still  occupies  the  pulpit. 

The  Al/ea-slreet  Church  was  first  organized 
in  1819;  but  their  present  edifice  was  not  open- 
ed till  the  year  1834.  The  Rev.  Henry  White, 
D.  D.,  was  settled  in  1829,  and  remained  till 
1837,  wlien  he  was  dismissed  to  take  the  chair 
of  Theology  in  the  Now- York  Seminary.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Bradley  is  his  successor. 

Concerning  the  remaining  Presbyterian 
ch'irches  in  our  city,  Henry  may  read  to  us  the 
following  succinct  account,  which  I  have  pre- 
pared, njiiniy  from  Mr.  Owen's  sketch.  It 
will  present  us  with  the  dates  of  their  forma- 
tion, and  other  principal  topics  of  interest  con- 
nected with  their  history. 

Henrj/.  The  Eighth  Presbyterian  Church 
was  organized  in  October,  1819.     The  Rev.  S. 


182  THE    CHURCHES 

N.  Rowan,  D.  D.,  was  installed  in  the  pastoral 
olficc,  November,  1819,  and  resigned  in  1830. 
Their  edilice,  in  Christopher-street,  was  erected 
in  1821.  Mr.  H.  Hunter,  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Rowan,  died  in  Au<2:ust,  1S34  ;  and  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Smith,  the  present  incumbent. 

The  Central  Presbylcrian  Church  was 
formed  on  the  8th  of  January,  1821.  In  the 
same  year  they  erected  their  church  in  Broome- 
street.  The  Rev.  Wm.  Ration  was  their  pastor 
from  the  formation  of  the  church  until  1834, 
when  he  resigned  his  charge.  The  Rev.  Wm. 
Adams,  the  present  pastor,  was  his  successor, 
and  came  to  New- York  from  Brighton,  Mass. 

The  Bowery  C/mrrJi  was  commenced  under 
the  labours  of  the  Rev.  W.  Staflbrd,  in  1822. 
In  1829,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Christmas  was  installed 
over  this  church,  and  preached  until  his  death, 
in  1830.  Dr.  Woodbridge,  his  successor,  was 
installed  over  the  Bowery  Church  in  October, 
1830,  but  has  since  removed  to  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut. 

The  BIceckcr-slrect  Church  was  organized 
«i  182.3,  and  the  edifice  erected  in  182G.  Mr. 
Bruen,  its  first  pastor,  died  in  September,  1829. 
His  successor  is  the  Rev.  Erskine  Mason,  D.  D., 
a  son  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Mason,  D.  D,  who  was 
settled  in  1830.  Mr.  Mason  formerly  preached 
at  Schenectady.  He  also  fills  a  professorship 
in  the  New-York  Theological  seminary. 

The  Spring-slre^lr  Church  was    organized 


OF    N  E  \V -  Y  O  R  K . 


183 


on  the  29th  of  September,  1825,  and  then  con- 
sisted of  o3  members.  Within  a  year  ov  two, 
the  old  building  has  been  removed,  and  a  new 
one  erected.  Mr.  H.  Ludlow,  their  pastor,  re- 
moved in  1826  to  New  Haven.  Mr.  Patton, 
from  the  Centre  Church,  is  now  his  successor. 
Here  is  a  view  of  the  West  Church,  as  it  ia 
seen  from  Varick-street. 


^V*>Mi^ 


184  THE    CHURCHES 

The  West  Chnrch  was  separated  from  the 
"North  Presbyterian  Church"  in  1831,  and  in 
January,  1832,  began  to  enjoy  the  stated  labours 
of  its  present  pastor,  the  Rev.  David  R.  Downer. 
The  edifice  was  erected  in  Carmine-streot,  at 
the  head  of  Varick,  and  dedicated  in  May,  1832. 

Since  Mr.  Downer's  settlement,  the  number 
of  communicants  has  increased  from  eighteen 
to  four  hundred. 

The  First  Free  Church,  with  the  Rev.  Joel 
Parker  at  its  head,  was  formed  in  1830.  They 
first  worshipped  in  a  room  in  Thamcs'-street, 
and  then  in  the  Masonic  Hall,  in  Broadway, 
until  the  erection  of  an  edifice  at  the  corner  of 
Deyand  Washington  streets.  Mr.  Parker  left, 
in  1833,  for  New-Orleans.  His  successor,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Barrows,  was  installed  July  28, 1835. 
Within  the  past  year  this  church  has  united 
with  the  one  worshipping  at  the  Broadway 
Tabernacle.  They  have  now  their  old  pastor, 
again,  from  New-Orleans.  The  Broadway- 
Tabernacle  is  one  of  the  largest  rooms  in  the 
United  States. 

The  Rev.  John  A.  Murray  collected  the 
Second  Avenue  Church,  in  1830.  It  was  or- 
ganized in  1831,  and  in  1833  the  building  was 
erected  on  the  Second  Avenue,  near  Third- 
street.  Mr.  Murray  lefi,  to  become  an  agent  in, 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society ;  and 
his  successor  is  the  Rev.  Charles  S.  Porter, 
from  Gloucester,  Massachusetts. 


0  F    N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  .  185 

The  Second  Free  Church  was  organized  in 

1832,  and  located  in  the  old  Chatham-street 
Theatre,  which  was  fitted  up  for  their  accom- 
modation. Their  pastors  have  been  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Finney,  Kev.  John  Ingersoll,  and  Rev. 
Mj-.  Martin. 

The  Third  Free  Church  was  first  com- 
menced, in  the  Masonic  Hall,  in  1S32,  with 
thirty-five  members.  During  the  next  year,  an 
edifice  was  erected  ar  the  corner  of  Houston  and 
Thompson  streets.  Their  pastors  have  been  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lan.sin?,  and  the  Rev.  N.  E.  Johnson. 
They  arc  at  present  without  a  regular  preacher. 
Dr.  L'lnsing  left  on  account  of  ill  health,  and 
Mr.  Johnson  to  take  charge  of  the  editorial  de- 
partment of  the  New- York  Evangelist. 

The  Ytllagc  Church  was  a  colony  from  the 
West  Presbyterian  Church,  and  organized   in 

1833.  Their  church  building  stands  on  Jane- 
Street,  near  the  Eighth  Avenue.  lis  first  pastor 
was  the  Rev.  Win  Page,  from  Poughkeepsie, 
who  is  now  in  .Michiiran.  His  successor  was 
the  Rev.  Diuiiel  Clark,  who  resigned  his  charge 
in  thesp»"ing  of  1638. 

The  Fdurtli  Fri'c  Churrh,  organized  in  1834, 
first  worshipj)od  in  Congress  Hull,  Bowery. 
Their  edifice  was  erected  in  1  (^35,  and  stands  at 
the  corner  of  Madison  and  ( 'atlierine  streets. 
Its  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Arthur  ( Iranger, 
who  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sprague, 


186  THE    CHURCHES 

now  of  Hartford.  The  Rev.  Joel  Mann,  of 
Connecticut,  succeeded  Mr.  Sprague. 

The  members  of  the  Bruinerd  Church 
erected  their  building  on  Rivington  street,  in 
1835.  The  Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  their  first  and 
present  pastor,  was  ordained  and  installed  No- 
vember 2d,  1834,  before  the  church  building 
was  completed.  Mr.  Smith  was  from  the 
Andover  Seminary. 

The  Eighth  Avenue  Church  was  organized 
April,  1835.  This  Church  first  enjoyed  the 
labours  of  Mr.  Edwards,  who  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riley. 

The  ManhattOM  Church  was  organized  in 
June,  1834,  and  commenced  worshipping  in  a 
small  building  on  Fourth-street,  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the  Baptists  The  Rev.  Mr.  Slocum, 
from  Hanover,  New-Jersey,  was  their  first 
pastor. 

The  Mercer-street  Church  was  commenced 
in  1835,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Skinner,  from  the  Andover  Seminary,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Their  building  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  commodious  church  edifices  in 
the  city.  Dr.  Skinner  is,  also,  a  professor  in 
the  New- York  Theological  Seminary. 


or   NEW-YORK.  187 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-SECOND. 

THR  MORAVIANS. 

Uncle.  The  next  denomination  of  Christians 
to  the  Presbyterians,  known  in  the  city,  was 
the  Moravian,  or  the  Society  of  "United  Bre- 
thren,'' as  they  call  themselves.  These  made 
their  appearance  in  New-Yortc  about  the  year 
173G.  The  society  was  then  scarcely  known 
in  this  country,  but  since  that  time  has  extend- 
ed v^ry  rapidly. 

John.  Were  the  United  Brethren  from  Eng- 
land ? 

Uncle.  No;  they  were  from  Germany.  They 
Avere  first  known  there,  under  the  name  of 
United  Brethren,  about  the  year  1721.  la 
this  year,  Nicholis  L-'wis.  Count  of  Zinzen- 
dorf,  their  great  leader,  settled  at  Bcrtholdsdorf, 
afterwards  called  Jlcrruhuth,  a  village  in  Upper 
Lusatia,  Germany,  and  soon  gathered  around 
him  numbers  from  Moravia,  and  elsewhere;  so 
that  in  ti-u  years  tbe  new  colonists  amounted  to 
six  htmdred.  They  gave  their  society  the 
namft  of  Uni/z~  F,nlum,\.hc  Unity  of  Brethren, 
or  United  Brctliron,  after  the  old  society  in 
Switzerland:  but  iu  the  surrounding  country 
they  were  known  as  Ilcrrnhullcrs,  and  were 
10 


188  THE    CHURCHES 

generally  considered  by  the  Lutherans,  as  fa- 
natical, though  this  opinion  was  probably  for 
the  most  part,  the  result  of  prejudice. 

Henry.  Then  the  United  Brethren  of  later 
times,  are  not  the  same  as  the  ancient  Moravians, 
sir? 

Uncle.  Whether  they  are  or  not,  is  a  dispu- 
ted point.  Count  Zinzendorf  afTirmed  that 
they  were ;  and  consequently  used  to  say  that 
he  was  the  reviver  of  an  old  society,  not  the 
founder  of  a  new  one.  And  as  the  United 
Brethren  in  later  days  have,  in  their  extensive 
missionary  operations,  manifested  a  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  Christ  worthy  of  the  former  followers 
of  John  Huss,  and  as  they  themselves  claim  it 
as  a  rightful  honour,  we  will  consider  them  as 
a  genuine  branch  of  the  old  society  of  Mora- 
vians;  and  consequently  of  a  more  remote  ori- 
gin than  their  settlement  at  Herrnhuth,in  1721. 

John.  Then,  sir,  we  must  hear  concerning 
the  origin  of  the  ancient  Moravians. 

Uncle.  This  I  will  give  you  in  few  words. 
The  Moravians,  or  "Bohemian  Brethren,"  were 
first  known  in  Germany,  in  the  15th  century  ; 
when,  animated  and  encouraged  by  the  preaching 
and  example  of  the  heroic  J.  Huss,  they  threw  off 
the  yokeof  Popery,and  embraced  Protestantism. 
In  the  next  century  they  connected  themselves 
with  the  Lutheran  Churches  in  Saxony.  But 
after  the  death  of  Luther,  in  1546,  and  their  ex- 
pulsion from  their  country  in  1547,  they  gradu- 


OF    NEW-YORK.  189 

ally  formed  a  connection  with  the  Swiss 
Church ;  although  on  the  express  condition 
that  they  should  be  governed  by  their  own  ec- 
clesiastical laws.  Thus  they  continued  until 
the  year  1620,  when  all  grounds  of  distinction 
being  removed,  the  two  separate  churches  were 
formed  into  one,  under  title  of  the  "  Church  of 
the  United  Brethren.''  This  is  the  origin  from 
which  the  modern  Moravians,  who  have  been 
known  in  Germany  as  Herrnhutters,  and  in 
this  country  as  Moravians,  or  United  Brethren, 
are  desirous  to  derive  their  descent. 

Henri/.   Did  Count  Zinzendorf  ever  visit  this 
country,  sir? 

Uncle.  He  did ;  like  George  Fox,  Mr.  Whit- 
field, and  other  modern  reformers,  he  turned 
his  attention  towards  the  growing  colonics  in 
the  west,  and  successfully  sought  to  spread  the 
principles  of  his  faith  in  these  regions,  by  two 
personal  visits  to  America.  Where  he  visited 
and  preached  when  here,  we  shall  sec  by-and- 
by.  Wc  will  first  turn  our  attention  to  the  in- 
troduction of  Moravianism  into  New-York. 
And  on  this  subject  you  may  read  an  extract 
from  this  manuscript  letter  of  the  Rev.  John 
Ettwcin,  wriurn  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  from 
Bellilehem,  Ptrm.'^ylvania,  and  bearing  dale  of 
September  I4tl),  1797. 

Henry.  "  Thi-  lirst  acquaintance  of  the 
United  iirothrrn  in  the  r;ity  of  New- York,  was 
made  by  our  ministers  nnfl  missionaries  on  their 
travels  through  New-York,  with  Mr.  T.  Noble, 


190  THE    CHURCHES 

(a  merchant,)  and  other  serious  and  awakened 
souls  in  connection  with  liini,  with  whom  Mr. 
Noble  held  private  mectinQs  in  his  own  house." 

Uncle.  This  Mr.  Noble  was  a  respectable 
merchant  in  the  city  at  that  time,  and  for  a  long 
while  a  worthy  member  of  the  Wall-street 
Presbyterian  Church,  during  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  Pemberton.  He  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the /owrtcZfr  of  the  Society  of  United  Brethren 
in  this  city.     Read  on. 

Henry.  "Some  of  these  missionaries  I  will 
mention:  the  Rev.  Augustus  Gotlleib  Span- 
genberg,  who  staid  some  days  in  New-York, 
in  the  years  173G  and  1737,  on  his  way  to  and 
from  Georgia,  where  a  colony  of  the  Brethren 
had  been  settled  ;  and,  likewise,  on  his  passage 
to  and  from  St.  Thomas,  where  a  mission 
among  the  negroes  had  been  begun.  Also  the 
the  Rev.  Frederick  Martin,  Missionary  from 
St.  Thomas,  on  his  way  to  Bethlehem."  Where 
is  Bethlehem,  sir  % 

Uncle.  Bethlehem  is  a  flourisliing  town  in 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  Lehigh  River.  It  was 
settled  by  the  United  Brethren,  and  may  be 
considered  their  head-quarters  in  this  country. 
Besides  a  church,  they  have  several  large 
buildings  for  their  different  orders,  and  male 
and  female  seminaries,  which  have  been  quite 
celebrated. 

Hennj.  "Likewise  the  Rev.  Christian  H. 
Rouch,  who,  in  July  1740,arrivedat  New-York, 
being  on  his  way  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians 


OF    NEW-YORK.  191 

of  that  State.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1741, 
the  Rev.  Peter  Boehler,  on  his  journey  to  Eu- 
rope, spent  several  days  in  New-York,  and  his 
testimony  proved  a  blessing  to  many  souls." 

Uncle.  Such  is  the  account  of  the  first  settle- 
ment of  the  Society  of  United  Brethren  in  this 
city,  in  which  Mr.  Noble  bore  a  conspicuous 
part.  In  the  year  last  mentioned  by  Mr.  Ettwein, 
Count  Zinzendorf  paid  his  first  visit  to  New- 
York.  This  was  his  second  voyage  to  America, 
but  during  the  first  he  appears  to  have  confined 
his  attention  almost  wholly  to  the  West  India 
Islands.  He  arrived  in  this  city  on  the  2d 
of  December,  1741,  and  remained  only  till  the 
6th  of  the  same  month,  when  he  proceeded  on 
his  way  to  Pennsylvania,  where  the  settlement 
of  Bethlehem  had  been  just  begun.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  spent  the  whole  of  the  year  1742 
in  journeying  about,  preaching,  and  establishing 
missions  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  on 
his  return  to  Europe  in  January,  1743,  he  again 
tarried  a  kw  days  in  New- York.  This  latter 
stay  of  his  apparently  had  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  establi.^hincnt  of  a  society  in  the  city; 
for  it  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Noble  and  others 
prevailed  on  the-  llev.  Peter  Boehler,  who  had 
accompanied  the  Count  thus  far  on  his  journey, 
to  remain  with  them  and  minister  to  their  assem- 
blies. This  Mr.  l^oehler  consented  to  do,  but 
was  soon  interrupted  in  his  good  work.  A 
fortnight  had  scarcely  elapsed,  when  he  was 
16» 


192  THE    CHURCHES 

apprehended  by  a  constable,  brought  before  the 
governor's  council,  slightly  questioned  by  them, 
afid  ordered  to  leave  the  town  within  t'venty-f'oiir 
hours!  This  illegal  command  he  was  obliged 
to  obey,  and  forthwitb  crossed  the  ferry  to 
St:3ten  Island,  where  he  remained  until  Mr. 
Noble,  and  some  other  reputable  citizens,  came 
over  and  presented  him  with  a  regular  call  to 
be  their  minister.     He  then  leturncd. 

John.  Who  was  this  governor,  sir,  that  ex- 
pelled Mr.  Boehler? 

Uacle..  Governor  Clarke ;  who  cared  but 
little  more  perhaps  about  justice  in  such  matters, 
than  LordCornbury  himself.  This  calling  of 
Mr.  Bof.diler  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  lirst 
establishment  ofthe  society,  although  it  was  not 
regularly  organized  as  a  "Society  of  United. 
Brethren,"  until  December,  1748,  when  Bishop 
Johannes  dc  Walterelle  visited  New- York. 
The  congregation  w-as  at  this  time  small,  num- 
bering somewhat  under  one  hundred.  Tlie 
appointed  places  for  meetings  w-eroatthe  house 
of  Mr.  Noble,  and  elsewhere,  until  1751,  whei) 
a  chapel  was  erected. 

Henri/.  Where  did  the  chapel  stand,  sir? 

Uncle.  On  Fair,  now  Fulton-street,  near  thp 
corner  of  Dutch-street.  It  stood  back  seme  dis- 
tance from  the  line  of  the  street,  and  was  en- 
closed by  a  high  board  fence,  so  as  to  be  scarcely 
visible  to  passers-by.  The  prtsont  edifice  is 
peaily  built,  facing  the  street,  and  bears  on  it 


OF    NEW- YORK.  193 

this  inscription — ''Founded  1751.  Reh-iili 
1 820.  Protestant  l^piscopal  CInirch  of  United 
Brefhre??." 

Henry.  How*  do  the  United  Brethren  differ 
from  other  Christians,  sir .'' 

Uncle.  Mostly  in  their  general  manner  of 
living,  and  their  customs;  though  in  doctrine, 
especially  that  reh^ting  to  the  Trinity,  they  dif- 
fer somewhat  from  other  evangelical  denomina- 
tions. They  are  said  to  hold  some  peculiar 
views  in  regard  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  moral 
law,  as  contained  in  the  ten  commandments,  and 
and  some  peculiar  customs  in  regard  to  matri- 
mony, prayer,  and  general  discipline.  Count 
Zinzendorf  divided  the  members  of  the  society 
into  different  classes,  accordingly  as  they  were 
young  or  old,  married  or  unmarried,  widows  or 
widowers,  each  class  having  over  it  a  director 
subject  to  its  own  choice,  and  all  the  classes 
being  tmder  the  superintcndance  of  three  co-as- 
sistant elders.  'J'h;;  particular  attention  paid  by 
the  United  Brethren  to  the  instruction  of  youth, 
and  their  prevailing  custom  of  singing  religious 
hymnH,  of  which  exercise  they  make  a  great 
part  of  their  p<ibli<'  worship  to  consist,  are  two 
happy  featuro.  in  their  system. 

Jokn.   And  their  missionary  spirit,  loo,  sir. 

Uncle.  Yfs,  John  :  we  can  never  lose  sight 
of  that.  Whenever  wo  think  of  ( Jrec  nlnnd,  St. 
Thomas,  and  St. Croix  ;  of  Lapland,  Tartary,  or 
Guinea;  of  the  Cape  of  Good  1 J  ope,  i  lie  Island 


194  THE    CHURCHES 

of  Ceylon,  or  of  the  Indians  of  our  own  country  ; 
unless  we  are  carelessly  forgetful  or  unpardou- 
ably  ignorant,  we  cannot  help  thinking  at  the 
same  time  of  the  self-denial,  zeal,  and  continued 
exertion,  of  these  indefatigable  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries. Their  example  is  worthy  of  apostolic 
times. 

One  thing  with  regard  to  their  ministers,  I 
wish  you  here  to  notice  ;  they  receive  no  fixed 
salaries ;  but  lake  what  the  sleioards  provide 
for  them  from  the  collections  made  at  the  public 
and  private  meetings.  As  to  their  church  gov- 
ernment, the  following  paragraph  will  give  us 
some  information  : — "They  have  their  minister 
and  a  committee  of  the  most  trusty  members  of 
the  congregation.  In  matters  of  moment,  the 
minister  has  to  consult  the  conference  at  Bethle- 
hem, which  is  responsible  to  the  general  Synod 
of  the  United  Brethren." 

Henry.  Did  Mr.  Boehler  continue  long  the 
minister  of  the  society  in  New-York  1 

Uncle.  As  his  presence  was  required  in  Penn- 
sylvania, he  soon  bid  adieu  to  his  congregation 
in  New-York  :  but  sent  preachers  to  them  from 
time  to  time  as  he  found  it  practicable,  until 
February,  1746,  when  the  Rev.  G.  Neuser  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  assist  Mr.  Noble  in  his  labours; 
which  hocontinued  to  do  till  Mr.  Noble's  death, 
when  he  acted  as  the  sole  minister.  Some  of 
the  ministers,  who  have  officiated  since  that  lime 
in  the  chapel  in  Fulton-street,  I  find  enumerated 


OF    N  E  \V  -  Y  0  R  K .  195 

as  follows: — The  Reverends  Owen  Rice, 
James  Grcenin.']:,  Ludolph  A.  Rlls^nlcyel^  G. 
Neuser  again,  Jacob  Rodgeis,  Thomas  Yarrel, 
GustavusShewkink,  James  Birkby,  and  God- 
frey Peter  ;  the  latter  of  whom  departed  this 
life',  during  his  minislrj',  October  27th, 
1797.  Since  then  Mr.  Ya'rrel  served  again; 
who  with  Mr.  Neuser,  remained  in  connection 
with  the  congregation  longer  than  most  of  the 
others,  who  generally  remained  only  two,  three, 
or  four  years.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kluge  is  the 
present  minister. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

THE    DAPTISTS. 

Unr.le.  The  next  denomination  that  claims 
our  attention,  is  the  Baptist. 

Tlierc  was  a  society  founded  here  under  this 
name,  as  early  as  17()'.t,  by  several  American 
Baptist  preachers;  whose  name  was  derived 
merely  from  the  characteristic  mode  of  baptism, 
and  not  from  any  eimilirity  of  doctrine  to  those 
of  the  present  Jiiplij-t  (.'hurch.  Mr  i*arliinson, 
pastor  of  the  First  Church,  in  Gold  street,  says 


196  THE    CHURCHES 

in  his  Jubilee  sermon,  that  they  were  Professed 
Arininiiins. 

This  church  seemed  to  flourish  for  a  few 
years ;  so  much  so  that  they  erected  a  meeting- 
house on  Golden  Hill,  which  they  occupied  un- 
til the  year  1731,  when  the  church  was  entirely 
dissolved.  Their  meeting-house  was  claimed 
and  sold  as  private  properly,  by  one  of  the  trus- 
tees. 

Concerning  the  rise  of  the  present  Baptist 
Church  in  our  city,  Henry  may  read  a  short 
account  that  I  have  prepared  for  you  from  Mr. 
Parkinson's  sermon. 

Henry.  "  About  the  year  1745,  Mr.  Jeremiah 
Dodge,  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Fish- 
kill,  settled  in  this  city,  and  opened  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  his  own  house.  At  these  meetings 
some  of  the  members  of  the  former  church  attend- 
ed, and  occasionally  officiated. 

In  the  same  year,  one  of  their  number,  Mr. 
Joseph  Meeks,  was  baptized,  and  thenceforth 
became  an  efficient  inember  of  the  church. 
Soon  after  this  an  invitation  was  sent  by  Messrs. 
Dodge,  Meeks,  and  Robert  North,  to  Mr.  John 
Pine  (a  licentiate  in  the  church  at  Fish-kill)  to 
come  and  preach  to  them.  Mr.  Pine's  labours 
were  very  use  ful  in  establishing  the  church  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  In  1750  Mr.  Pine 
died. 
Afte  r  this,  Elder  James  Carman  (ofCranbury) 


O  F    N  E  M'  -  Y  0  R  K  .  197 

visited  them,  and  performed  baptism,  at  different 
times. 

In  1753,  they  united  themselves  to  the  church 
in  Scotch  Plains,  and  enjoyed  the  labours  of 
their  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller,  once  or  twice 
in  a  quarter.  Mr  .Miller  had  visited  them  but  a 
few  times,  when  finding  their  congregation  too 
numerous  to  be  accommodated  in  a  private  house, 
a  rigging  loft,  in  Horse-and-Cart-strcet,  was 
procured  and  fitted  up  for  public  worship." 

John.  That  was  William-street. 

Uncle.  And  the  lofl  used,  must  have  been  the 
same  one  afterwards  occupied  by  the  Methodists, 
in  1767.  This  building  still  stands,  and  should 
be  an  object  of  interest  and  veneration,  to  these 
two  denominations  now  so  flourishing  and  nu- 
merous in  our  city.     Read  on,  Henry. 

Hennj.  "  Hero  they  statedly  assembled  for 
three  or  four  years,  when  the  loft  being  otherwise 
disposed  of  by  the  owners,  they  assembled  again 
in  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr.  Meeks.  In  1758, 
having  purchased  a  piece  of  ground,  where  the 
church  now  stands  in  Gold-street,  they  commen- 
ced the  erection  of  a  small  meeting-house,  which 
was  opened  on  the  4th  of  March,  1760.  Their 
numbers  now  liegan  rapidly  to  increase;  and 
having  obtained  dismission  from  the  church  at 
Scotch  Plains  in  1762,  they  were,  on  the  19th 
of  June  of  th(!  same  yrnr,  constituted  a  church 
by  the  assistance  of  Elders  Benjamin  Miller  and 
John  CJano." 


ly8  THE    CHURCHES 

Uncle.  Their  first  pajtor,  after  this  org-aniza- 
tion,  wastfie  Rev.  Mr.  Gano,  who  had  formerly 
been  sciilcd  over  a  church  in  Yadkin,  North- 
Carolina. 

Mr.  Gano  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  people, 
and  by  the  public  at  large;  so  much  so.  that  his 
church  began  to  increase  in  numbers,  and  the 
meeting-house  was  much  enlarged  for  their  ac- 
commodation. The  dimensions  of  the  first  house, 
are  not  precisely  known,  but  Mr.  David  Grim 
has  left  a  small  drawing  of  it,  which,  as  it  is  a 
curiosity,  I  will  one  day  show  you.  When 
enlarged  it  measured  52  feet  by  42. 

'J'husthechurch  continued  to  flourish,  until  the 
revolution,  when  Mr.  Gano  tnterrdas  a  chaplain 
in  the  army,  and  his  congregation  were  entirely 
dispersed.  Durino-  this  melancholy  period  the 
meeting-house  sufiered  great  injury  from  the 
British  ;   having  been  used  as  a  horse-stable. 

After  the  peace,  however,  a  short  time  only 
elapsed  before  the  church  was  restored  to  her 
former  prosperity. 

In  178S,  Mr.  Gano  took  leave  of  his  people, 
and  departed  for  Kentucky,  after  having  been 
their  pastor  for  26  years. 

His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Benjamin  For- 
ster,  from  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  The  church 
enjoyed  the  labours  of  Mr.  Forster  only  for  a 
short  while.  For  on  the  2blh  of  August,  1798, 
he  died,  after  a  settlement  ot  about  nine  months 
in  this  city. 


OF    NEW-VORK.  199 

The  Rev.  William  Collier,  from  Boston, 
succeeded,  and  officiated  till  the  year  1804. 
During  his  ministry  here,  the  old  buildinq-  was 
removed,  and  the  present  edifice  erected.  While 
the  new  house  was  building,  the  congregation 
worshipped  in  the  old  French  Church,  in  Pine- 
street. 

Theirprcscntpastor,  the  Rc\\  William  Parkin- 
son, was  Mr.  Collier's  successor,  Mr.  Paikinscn 
came  to  New-York  from  Frederick-town,  in 
Maryland,  lii.s  native  state.  He  stilled  in  1805, 
and  has  been  a  pastor  here  for  nearly  thirty-four 
ytars. 

Concerning  the  remainder  of  the  Baptist 
Churches  in  our  ciiy,  you  may  read  the  follow- 
ing: 

John.  I'ho  Second,  in  Oli'  er-ctrcct,  founded 
in  17'Jo.  and  rebuilt  of  stOiie  in  18iU.  Rev. 
Mr.  Cone,  pastor. 

The  Third,  in  Anthony-street,  founded  in 
1805,  built  of  wood;  Mr.  liayborr,  p-^itor. 

The  Fot/rih,  iti  Broomeslrett,  founded  1806  ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Bluir,  pastor. 

The  /'////'.  ill  Miilberry-strrot.  founded  in  1 809. 
Presentedificc  erected  in  1817;  Rev.  Mr.IMaclay, 
pastor. 

The  Sixth,  in  M'lJougalstreot,  founded  in 
1810;  first  built  in  Vandam-&trt.Lt.  Rev.  Mr. 
Dunbar,  pastor. 

The  Svulh,  in  Nassau-street,  founded  in  16'24; 
Rev.  Mr.  Somers,  pastor. 
17 


200  THE    CHUnCHES 

The  Union,  in  Stanton,  near  Forsytli-street; 
Rev.  Mr.  Benedict. 

The  Betkel,  in  Bowery;   Rev.  Mr.  Miller. 

The  Bcthd,  in  Mott-street ;  Rev.  Mr.  Chase. 

The  North,  in  Bedford-street;  Rev.  Mr. 
Broinier. 

The  East,  in  Grand-street;  Rev.  Mr.  Mid- 
dleton. 

The  West,  in  Duane-street ;  Rev.  Mr.  Dow- 
ling. 

The  Ebenezer,  in  Houstoun-street ;  Rev.  Mr. 
Marsh. 

The  Salem  Church,  in  King-street. 

The  Emmaus  Par,  in  (Jhrystie-street ;  Rev. 
Mr.  Parkinson. 

New  Church,  in  Amity-street;  Rev.  Mr. 
Williams. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

THE   METH0DIST3. 

Henry.  The  Methodists,  I  believe,  sir,  were 
not  so  early  a  sect  in  this  city,  as  the  Baptists. 

Uncle.  No.  And  the  reason  was,  that  they 
were  very  little  known  Ju  this  country  as  a  sect 
at  all,  at  the  time  the  Baptists  settled  here. 


O  F    N  £  V"  -  V  O  R  K .  201 

Then  when  we  remember  that  they  oric;-inated 
in  a  foreign  country,  we  will  not  wonder  that 
the  eighteenth  century  had  almost  elapsed  be- 
fore they  were  much  known  in  New- York. 

John.  They  commenced  in  England,  I  be- 
lieve. 

Uncle.  They  did  so.  But  Henry  may  tell 
us  what  he  remembers  concerning  their  rise. 

Henry.  John  Wesley  Avas  the  founder  of 
Methodism.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Oxford 
university,  and  there  he  and  his  followers  took 
the  name  of  Methodists. 

John.  Why  where  they  called  Methodists, 
uncle? 

Uncle.  Because  they  performed  their  religious 
duties  by  certain  fi.Ked  rules  and  methods.  They 
were  sornetin»os  denominated  sacra.nentariayis ; 
and  sometimes  in  riJiculc,  their  fellow  students 
gave  them  the  nick-name  of  the  godly-club. 
You  may  go  on  Henry. 

Henry.  His  sentiments  began  to  spread, 
about  the  year  1740,  through  all  parts  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  But  about  the  introduc- 
tion of  Mcthodihin  into  tliis  city,  I  can  only  say 
that,  if  I  remember  aright,  it  was  near  the  year 
1768. 

Uncle.  You  are  correct;  it  w^as  only  a  few 
years  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  American 
Revolution.  Mr.  Weshy  always  considered 
the  beginning  of  the  Methodist  Church,  in 
New- York,  to  be  the  beginning  of  it  in  America. 


202  THE    CHURCHES 

He  had  indeed  fcimerly  visited  Georgia,  and 
there-!  organized  a  church,  hut  on  his  departure 
it  had  CiiLirely  dwiiuHecl  away. 

One  of  the  mo6t  efficient  organizers  of  the 
Methodist  Chiu.h  in  this  city,  was  Philip  Em- 
bury; a  man  vi  oincere  pie'.y  and  true  hcnevo- 
lence,  and  who,  ii:i  his  emigration  from  Britain, 
had  not  h^ft  behind  him  his  devotional  and  reH- 
gious  fi^rlings.  Urged  on  by  a  lady  of  zeal 
and  activity,  he  opened  the  doors  of  his  own 
house,  and' there,  with  a  little  band  of  six  or 
seven,  held  the  first  Methodist  Meeting  that 
New- York  had  ever  seen.  His  house,  thus 
rendered  worthy  of  memory,  stood  on  Barrack- 
street,  since  known  as  Augustus-street. 

Henry.  And  now  called,  City-Hall  Place. 

Uncle.  Thu,*  they  began.  But  continuing 
to  struggle  on,  through  the  scoffs  and  derision 
of  unsodly  men,  who  considered  them  as  great 
enthusiasts,  thej'-  gradually  increased  and 
strengthened,  until  they  were  soon  beyond  the 
fear  of  disturbance*,  or  reach  of  opposition. 

But  Mr.  Embury  was  not  the  only  man  whose 
name  is  conspic^ons  in  the  early  history  of  the 
church  here.  'i'here  was  another,  whose 
name  was  Webb.  Captain  Webb,  (by  which 
he  was  generally  known,)  had  been  barrack- 
master  in  the  English  Army,  stationed  at  Al- 
bany. 

John.  The  English,  then,  held  possession  of 
this  country? 


OF    N  E  W  - Y  0  B  K .  203 

Henry.  Yes.  It  was  before  the  Revolution, 
you  know. 

Uncle.  Captain  Webb,  hearing  of  this  feeble 
band  who  were  struggling  against  a  strong  tide 
of  opposition,  came  down  to  New- York,  and 
made  his  appearance  among  them  as  a  friend. 
His  first  appearance  at  one  of  their  meetings, 
was  quite  unexpected,  and  somewhat  alarming. 
The  circumstance  is  described  by  a  writer,  in 
the  following  language.     Read  it  John. 

John.  "  Once  having  met  together  as  usual, 
they  were  surprised,  whilst  singing,  by  the  en- 
trance of  a  man,  in  full  military  uniform,  whose 
appearance  on  such  an  occasion  struck  the 
whole  congregation  with  consternation.  All 
eyes  were  an.xiously  fi-ved  upon  him,  to  discern 
whether  any  sinister  purpose  was  intended  by 
this  visit,  from  an  oflicer  of  the  Royal  American 
Troops ;  but  when  they  saw  him  disposed  to 
join  in  worship — when  they  saw  him  kneel  to- 
gether with  themselves  in  solemn  prayer,  and 
perceived  the  marked  serenity  of  his  features, 
their  fears  were  dispelU.d,  and  they  recognized, 
under  th<i  disguise  of  war,  a  brother,  and  a 
faithful  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Af- 
ter the  e'.\erci.sP3  were  concluded,  he  introduced 
himself  as  Lieutenant  Webb,  from  Albany;  and 
from  that  moment  he  became  the  chief  pillar  of 
this  rising  congregation." 

Uncle.  After  this.  Captain  Webb  and  Mr. 
Embury  became  conjointly  the  stated  preachers 
17' 


204  THE    CUIIRCHES 

in  the  congregation  :  find  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest blessed,  with  ill)  unsparing  hand,  their  per- 
severance and  faithfulness. 

Captain  Webb's  appearance  was  somewhat 
of  a  novehy,  and  perhaps  contributed  not  a  Jittle 
to  his  popularity.  He  was  a  large,  stout  man, — 
always  appeared  in  the  pulpit  with  his  regi- 
mentals— and  wore  a  band  around  his  forehead, 
to  cover  a  sighthss  rye  which  had  been  wound- 
ed in  the  campaign  against  Quebec,  in  1758. 

John.  He  must  have  looked  singularly 
enough,  sir. 

JJaclc.  True.  But  as  he  was  a  soldier  of 
the  King  of  England,  so  his  regimentals  might 
aptly  remind  him  that  he  was  a  soldier  too  of 
the  cross,  and  owed  allegiance  to  the  King  of 
Heaven  and  earth.  Their  rooms  in  Barrack- 
street  soon  became  too  straight  for  them,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  seek  accommodations 
elsewhere.  Accordingly  a  house  in  William- 
street,  containing  a  largo  upper  room,  once  oc- 
cupied as  a  riafging-loft,  was  procured  and  fitted 
up.  Mr.  Embury  here  preached  from  a  pulpit, 
marie  ivilh  his  men  ha /ids. 

Henry.  In  wlia,  part  of  William-street  was 
this? 

Uncle.  Only  a  iiiw  doors  north  of  John-street. 
The  building  is  still  standing,  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation,  and  is  known  as  No.  120.  It  is 
occupied  as  a  store  by  those,  and  passed  daily 
by  hundreds,  who  little  think  of  its  former  use. 


OF    NEW-TCnK.  205 

Here  INIessrs.  Embury  and  Webb  continued 
to  preach,  and  to  labour:  and  here  God  mani- 
fested his  special  presence,  in  increasing  their 
numbers,  and  strengthening  their  hands,  until 
1768,  when  they  began  seriously  to  think  af 
erecting  a  church.  This  they  knew  to  be,  in 
their  present  situation,  a  great  undertaking. 
Nevertheless,  in  due  time,  th-?y  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  their  utmost  dtsire  gratified.  Their 
first  plan  was  to  rent  a  plot  of  ground,  and  erect 
a  wooden  building.  But  by  ilio  activity  and 
zeal  of  one  or  two  of  the  nembers,  they  were 
enabled  to  purchase  a  site  on  what  was  then 
called  Golden-hill,  near  ^V'^iliiam-strcet. 

John.  You  have  mentioned  Golden-hill  be- 
fore, sir. 

Uncle.  It  is  now  k'nown  as  John-street. 
Hero  they  soon  stw  their  most  singuine  hopfs 
accomplishi'd,  in  the  erection  of  a  substantial 
stone  church  ;  which  was  dedicated  on  the  oUth 
October,  17G8.  The  sermon  on  this  occasion 
was  preached  by  Mr.  Embury,  and  from  a  pul- 
pit vnade  with  his  own  hands. 

After  this,  as  they  uow  had  a  name  and  a 
habitation,  their  meetings  became  more  fully 
attended,  and  the  respectability  of  their  sect,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world,  was  much  advanced. 

Golden-hill  had  not  then  been  levelled,  ns 
as  wc  find  John-street  now;  and  the  church 
had  been  placed  down  snmc  frt,  in  anticipation 
of  such  a  future  change.     But  when  the  hill 


20G  T  IT  K    CHURCHES 

was  levelled,  so  much  was  cut  away,  that  the 
building-  stood  .much  higher  from  the  ground 
than  was  at  first  intended.  The  two  side  doors 
led  to  the  galleries.  These  galleries  were  not 
finished  till  some  years  after  the  dedication,  so 
that  they  afforded  seats  to  none  but  boys  and 
young  men,  v»-ho  for  a  long  time  ascended  by 
means  of  a  ladder.  Sucii  was  Weslei/s  Chapel 
in  New-Tork  :  the  first  in  America. 

To  screen  the  congregation  from  the  gaze  of 
the  passer-by,  a  high  wooden  fence  was  erected 
before  the  whole  front.  There  was  a  house 
standing  nearly  in  front  of  it,  an  old  fashioned 
Dutch  building,  that  served  as  a  parsonage,  li- 
brary, and  sexton's  domicil,  until  its  removal  to 
make  way  for  John-street. 

Hear]/.  John-.strcet  took  its  name  from  John 
Hardcnbrook,  1  think  you  said,  Uncle. 

Joh7i.  The  man  who  gave  the  ground  for 
the  North  Dutch  Church. 

Uncle.  And  whose  escutcheon  is  still  there 
to  be  seen.  As  was  usual  in  those  days,  part 
of  the  expense  of  erecting  the  Methodist  Church, 
was  defrayed  by  means  of  a  lottery.  Concern- 
ing this  mode  of  raising  money  for  charitable 
and  benevolent  purposes,  in  use  by  our  prede- 
cessors, we  have  before  conversed. 

We  have  seen  the  manner  in  which  the  Me- 
thodist denomination  rose,  in  our  city,  and  the 
rapidity  with  which  their  sentiments  spread, 
and  their  numbers  increased. 


OF  N i:\v-Yo UK.  207 

As  yet  they  had  had  no  regularly  ordained 
ministers  amonir  them.  But  in  I7G9,  the  year 
after  the  completion  of  the  chapci,  some  of  the 
most  influential  in  the  society,  having  consulted 
together,  finally  addrcsvcd  a  kltor  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley in  England,  beseeching  him  to  send  minis- 
ters to  labour  among  thtm;  and  promising  ta 
support  them  even  if  they  should  be  obliged  to 
sell  their  coats  to  procure  their  subsistence. 
Such  a  call  from  such  men.  could  not  meet  with 
a  refusal.  And,  accordingly,  in  the  same  year, 
two  clergj'men  were  despatched  to  America  j 
viz.  Rev.  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmore. 
These  brought  with  them  fifty  poimds  sterling, 
as  a  "tolcen  of  brotherly  love."  from  the  bre- 
thren in  England  to  those  in  New-York.  A 
part  of  a  letter  which  Mr.  Pi'more  wrote  back 
to  Mr.  Wesley,  dated  Pliil.'.dilphin,  October 
31st,  1769,  you  may  n  ad  to  us,  John,  as 
it  comprises  some  inibrmalion  concerning  the 
rise  of  the  church. 

John.  "  Rev.  Sir:  By  the  blcfsing  of  Gcd  we 
are  safely  arrived  here,  after  a  tedious  passage 
of  nine  weeks.  We  were  not  a  little  siirprisrd 
to  find  fjnpt'iin  Weljb  in  town,  and  a  socii  ty  of 
about  a  hundred  members,  who  drsirii  to  be  in 
close  connection  with  you.  This  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyrs.  I  havi; 
preachfd  sevt-ral  times,  and  the  people  flocdc  to 
near,  in  n)ulliiu:les.  Hero  s /ems  to  be  a  great 
and  efTeclual  door  opening  in  this  country." 


208  T  II  K    C  H  U  11  C  H  E  S 

Uncle.  Mr.  Pilmove,  after  travelling- through 
some  of  the  southern  states,  and  preaching  to 
crowds  of  eager  hearers  of  the  word,  Avho  every- 
where met  him,  came  to  New- York,  and  finally 
settled  as  the  pastor  of  a  church  here. 

John.  I  remember,  sir;  his  church  was  in 
Ann-street. 

JJiich.  Yes;  though  no  trace  of  a  church  is 
to  be  found  there  now.  From  this  city  he  writes 
again  to  Mr.  Wesley,  under  date  of  April  24th, 

1770,  from  which  an  extract  may  be  interest- 
ing to  us.     Read  it,  Henry. 

Henrij.  "  Our  house  contains  about  seventeen 
hundred  hearers ;  only  about  a  third  part  of 
of  those  who  attend  get  in  ;  the  rest  are  glad  to 
hear  without.  There  appears  such  a  willing- 
cess  in  the  Americans  to  hear  the  word,  as  I 
never  saw  before.  The  numbers  of  blacks  that 
attends  the  preaching  affects  me  much." 

Uncle.  "ih<^  effect  of  such  representations  of 
want  in  spiritual  things  among  the  people  here, 
was  that  more  labourers  left  their  homes  in 
England  and  embarked  in  this  good  cause.     Ih 

1771,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ashbury  and  Wright, 
having  voluutci  icd  their  services,  were  des- 
patcht^d  to  America.  These  were  warmly  re- 
ceived by  the  people,  who  bid  them  welcome  as 
messengers  of  glad  tidings  to  the  western  world. 
They  continued  to  travel  through  the  colonies, 
more  particularly  in  the  middle  and  southern 
states,  until  their  number  was  reinforced  by  the 


or   NEW-YORK.  209 

arrival  of  Mr.  Thomas  Rankin,  and  Mr. 
George  Shadibrd,  in  the  year  1773.  And  to 
these  again  were  added  in  the  next  year  two 
more.  From  this  time  forward,  there  was  no 
lack  of  labourers  in  the  field:  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  their  doctrines  spread  through  the 
whole  United  States,  bore  ample  testimony  to 
their  faithfulness  as  preachers  of  the  word,  as 
well  as  to  the  power  of  that  word  to  renew  the 
heart  and  sanctify  the  life. 

Henry.  What  became  of  Mr.  Pilmorc,  sir? 

Uncle.  Having  imited  himself  with  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  in  this  city,  his  friends 
built  him  a  church  in  Ann-street,  long  known 
as  Mr.  Pilmore's  Christ  Church.  Here  ho  con- 
tinued to  preach  until  his  removal  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  finally  died.  His  church  was 
afterwards  sold  to  the  Roman  Catholics. 

Like  other  denominations,  the  Methodists  had 
some  trouble  during  the  war  of  tlie  American 
Revolution.  In  Maryland,  one  of  their  preach- 
ers, Mr.  Ashbury,  was  fined  five  ■pounds  for 
preaching  publicly.  And  ihrough  all  the  pro- 
vinces they  were  regardrd  with  rather  a  jealous 
eye  by  the  American  parly. 

Henri/.  Why  so,  Uncle? 

Unrlc.  I  suppose,  because  it  was  well  known 
that  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  staunch  loyali.vt,  nnd 
that  some  of  their  most  prominent  clergynion 
had  been  opposed  to  the  proceedings  of  tho 
Americans.     But  while  this  gave  them  enemies 


210  THE    CHURCHES 

on  one  side,  it  scci;red  ibem  friends  on  ihe  other. 
Consequcaliy,  when  all  the  other  congregations 
in  this  city  were  dispersed  during  the  war,  and 
their  churches  used  for  secular  purposes,  the 
Methodists  were  not  very  seriously  incommoded. 
They  wore  only  required  to  give  up  their  chttpel 
in  John  street,  lor  th-rdse  of  the  German  troops, 
in  the  fore-part  of  the  Sabbath,  while  they  them- 
selves might  use  it  during  the  remainder  of  the 
day.  They  were  considered  as  loyalists,  and 
were  treated  accordingly.  On  refusal  to  take 
up  arms  in  the  American  cause,  many  were 
fined  and  vv'hipped.  Many  of  the  societies  suf- 
fered by  a  deprivation  of  regular  preaching. 
But  even  in  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  and  per- 
plexities, their  preachers  found  means  to  advance 
the  cause  of  truth;  and,  like  their  brlheren  of 
other  denominations,  they  embraced  whatever 
opportunity  offered,  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  to 
keep  alive,  and  nourish,  even  in  the  midst  of 
war  and  tumult,  the  seeds  of  religion  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 

During  thii-  time  of  commotion  and  inquietude, 
by  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Wesley,  Mr. 
Ashbury  was  considered  as  a  kind  of  swperin- 
tendant  of  the  Mcthodi.?t  Churches  in  America. 

But  in  17S4,  Dr.  Coke  was  sent  out  as  a 
Bishoj),  who  should  take  upon  himself  the  care 
of  tbe  American  CliUiches.  He  brought  with 
him  credentials  in  Mr.  Wesley's  own  hand 
wiitinsr. 


OF    NEW-YORK.  211 

Dr.  Coke  was  received  with  open  hearts  by 
the  church,  who  joyfulJy  welcomed  him  as  their 
bishop, — or  swperinlendant,  which  appears  to 
have  been  Mr.  Wesley's  favourite  term  for 
bishop. 

John.  I  never  knew  that  the  Methodists  had 
bishops. 

Uncle.  You  see  that  they  have;  and  hence 
their  church  is  designated  as  the  Methodist 
Episcopal.  One  of  the  first  of  Dr.  Coke's  pub- 
lic acts,  was  the  ordination  of  Francis  Ashbury 
as  superintcndant ;  wliich  was  regularly  per- 
formed, at  a  conference  of  the  church,  in  1784. 
This  conference  Avas  held  at  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, and  there  the  Methodists  of  America 
were  first  formed  into  a  regular  church,  and  the 
name  of  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
given  them. 

Henry.  Were  they  like  the  Episcopalians  in 
their  forms  of  worship  ? 

Uncle.  They  were,  somewhat,  at  first.  They 
used  in  some  of  the  larger  towns  and  cities  for  a 
few  years,  the  prayer  hook  of  the  English 
Church,  from  which  prayers  were  read  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  at  the  morning  service  of  Wed- 
nesday and  Friday.  Bands  and  gowns  wore  for 
sometime  worn  by  the  supcrintendanis,  and  somo 
of  the  elders.  But  all  of  these,  meeting  with 
opposition  from  the  people,  were  gradually  laid 
aside,  and  given  up. 

After  this  regular  organization  of  the  Metho- 
18 


212  THE    CHURCHES 

dist  Church,  thciv  cause  greatly  revived,  and  the 
number  of  converts  multiplied  on  every  hand. 
When  Dr.  Coke  sailed  for  England,  in  the 
year  1785,  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  in  the  United  States,  numbered 
about  fifteen  thousand.  And  about  the  period 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  they  were  stated  to  have 
been  forty-three  thousand. 

John.  What  a  large  number,  sir  ! 
?^  Uncle.  But  from  this  period,  such  was  the  as- 
tonishing progress  of  Methodism  in  this  country, 
that  the  enrolled  members  in  1820,  were  two 
hundred  and  eighty-thousand. 

Johri.  What  must  it  be  now ! 

Uncle.  A  few  words  in  relation  to  Dr.  Coke, 
the  first  Methodist  Bishop  in  America;  he  was 
born  at  Brecon,  South  Wales,  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1747;  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  sent  to 
Oxford,  where  he  received  his  education  ;  was 
chosen  to  a  responsible  civil  office  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  ;  and  held  a  respectable  curacy  for 
several  years,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Wesley,  and  embraced  his  sentiments. 
In  1784,  he  was  ordained  by  Mr.  Wesley,  as 
superintendent  to  the  churches  in  America ; 
where  he  continued  to  labour  for  many  years. 
During  the  latter  portion  of  his  life  he  was 
much  engaged  in  the  cause  of  foreign  missions; 
and  towards  India  especially  was  his  attention 
turned.  He  was  so  much  in  earnest  for  the 
salvation  of  the  poor  Hindoos,  that  he  resolved 


0  F    N  E  \\'  -  Y  0  R  IC  21 3 

10  go  Jiimsclf,  and  devote  lus  life  to  the  work  of 
evangelizing  them ;  and,  accordingly,  in  the 
year  1814,  he  embarked  for  India.  But  those 
benighted  shores  he  was  destined  never  to  see; 
for  on  the  3d  of  May,  of  that  year,  he  was 
found,  by  his  servant,  stretched  on  the  cabin 
floor,  a  cold  and  lifeless  corpse !  Thus  sud- 
denly was  this  devoted  man  called  away  from 
his  earthly  labours.     He  was  buried  at  sea. 

The  Methodist  Churches  in  our  city,  are  nu- 
merous; they  have  appeared  in  the  following 
order: 

Tlie  First,  is  the  John-street  Church,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  The  present 
edifice  was  erected  in  1817,  and  stands  on  the 
spot  occu])ied  by  the  one  built  in  1768.  It  is 
built  of  stone,  and  the  interior  finished  in  mod- 
ern style. 

The  Second,  stands  in  Forsyth-street ;  first 
built  of  stone,  and  was  founded  in  1789  ;  rebuilt 
in  1833. 

The  Third,  in  Duane-strect,  was  founded  in 
1797.     Its  size  is  75  feet  by  50. 

The /ow/7A,  is  the  African  Church  in  Church- 
street,  founded  in  180(J,  and  rebuilt  in    l!-*:20. 

The  Fifl/i,  founded  in  1806,  and  built  in  Mott- 
strcf't,  of  wood,  has  since  been  removed  to 
Willet-striret,  near  Broome. 

The  Sixth,  in  Allen-street,  built  of  stone, 
founded  in  1809;  rebuilt  in  1830. 

The  Scvcnt/i,  in  Bedford-street,  corner  of  Mor- 


214 


THE    CHURCHES 


ton,  founded  in  1809,  built  of  wood  ;  size  60  feet 
by  42. 

The  Eighth,  founded  in  1818,  built  of  wood; 
in  Broomc-street,  since  removed  to  Green-street, 
near  Broome. 

The  Ninth,  the  Bowery  Village  Church, 
built  of  wood  in  1818,  in  Seventh-street,  then 
called  Nichols  William-street.  It  has  lately 
been  rebuilt  with  brick. 

The  Tenth,  Independent  Church,  in  Chrystie  - 
street;  built  in  1821  of  brick. 

The  Eleventh,  in  Eighteenth-street,  near  the 
Eighth-Avenue,  built  of  brick. 

The  Twelfth,  a  beautiful  chapel,  in  Vestry- 
street,  near  Hudson. 

The  Thirteenth,  is  the  Wesleyan  Chapel, 
in  Mulberry-street,  near  Bleecker;  lately  erected, 
and  presenting  an  interior  of  striking  neatness 
and  beauty. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

THE  REFORMED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

Uacle.  Concerning  the  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Church,  Henry  may  read  this  account, 
which  a  friend  has  furnished  us. 


OF    NE  \V-\  ORK.  215 

Henry.  The  Reformed  Presbyterian  Con- 
gregation in  this  city,  was  founded  in  the  year 
1797.  In  1800,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  M'Leod  was 
installed  as  their  pastor,  and  in  1801,  the  church 
edifice  in  Chamber-street,  first  occupied  by 
them,  was  erected.  It  was  a  small  neat  frame 
building,  to  which  a  burying-ground  was  at- 
tached, and  was  well  known  to  the  religious 
public.  In  this  place  the  congregation  wor- 
shipped, until  by  the  increase  of  their  numbers 
and  resources,  a  larger  edifice  was  demanded, 
and  in  1818,  the  more  extensive  and  commo- 
dious building  of  brick,  which  still  occupies  the 
old  site  in  Chamber-street,  was  erected. 

In  these  houses  Dr.  M'Leod  discharged  his 
stated  ministry,  until  his  decease.  For  more 
than  thirty  years  he  occupied  a  very  prominent 
place  among  the  clergymen  and  other  literary 
characters  of  this  city.  His  published  lectures 
on  the  "Scripture  Prophecies;"  his  "Sermons 
on  the  Late  War  ;"  and  "  on  the  Life  and  Power 
of  True  Godliness,"  and  the  many  contributions 
he  was  known  to  make  to  the  various  periodi- 
cals of  the  day,  remain  as  evidences  of  his  dis- 
tinguished abilities. 

From  many  largn  and  wealthy  congrega- 
tions of  other  dinoininalions,  in  this  city,  and 
elsewlifTf,  and  from  different  in.stilutions,  the 
doctor  received  invitations  to  change  liis  eccle- 
siastical relatiori.s,  but  he  preferrrd  remaining 
with  the  people  among  whom  he  connnenced 
18» 


216  THECHURCIIES 

his  ministry.  His  abilities  as  a  controvorsialist, 
and  eloquence  as  a  preacher,  attracted  large 
crowds  to  his  church,  and  for  years  it  was  a 
place  of  resort,  on  the  evenings  of  the  Sabbath, 
to  many  Christians  of  all  religious  persuasions. 

Dr.  iVI'Lcod  died  in  1833.  In  1835,  the  con- 
gregation disposed  of  the  church  in  Chambers- 
street,  and  removed  to  the  corner  of  Prince  and 
Orange  streets,  where  they  now  worship.  The 
Rev.  John  N.  M'Leod,  the  son  and  successor  of 
his  father,  Dr.  M'Leod.  is  their  present  pastor. 

The  Reformed  Presbyterians  are  strict  old 
fashioned  Presbyterians,  Avho  take  as  their  sub- 
ordinate standards  of  faith,  the  Westminster 
Confession,  and  what  is  styled  their  "Act  De- 
clarative, and  Testimony  Explanatory"  of  it. 

Uncle.  This  will  end,  for  the  present,  our 
conversations  concerning  the  churches  of  New- 
York. 

At  some  future  time,  it  maybe  interesting  and 
instructive  to  us  to  consider,  more  minutely,  the 
history  and  character  of  the  ministers  who  have 
been  settled  over  our  Evangelical  Churches 
here,  since  the  first  settlement  by  the  Dutch. 


A  UST  OF  ALL 

THE 

CHURCHES  IN  THE  CITY, 

ALPHABETICALLY  ARRANGED. 


AFRICAV. 


Abyssinian  Baptist,  in  Anthony-street. 
Aabury  Methodist,  in  Elizabeth-street. 
Methodist,  in  Second-street. 
Melhodi-it  African  Union,  in  Fifieenth-street. 
St.  Philip's,  Episcopal,  in  Centre-street. 
Zion,  Daptisl,  in  Spring-street. 
Zion,  .Methodist,  f'hnrch-street. 
Protestant  Episcopal,  Grand-street. 


BAPTIST. 

First,  in  Gold-strert. 
Second,  in  Oliver  street 
Bethel,  in  tin-  FJowcry. 
Bellu.l.  in  .Moit-stroet. 
Fifth,  in  .Midhorry-street. 
Beriah,  Xorth,  in  .M'Dougal-street, 
South,  in  .\assan-street. 
Eighlli,  in  riroomc-strect. 
North,  in  Bedford-street. 


218 

East,  in  Grand-street. 

West,  in  Duane-street. 

El)(!nezer,  in  HoiiStoun-street, 

Salem,  in  Kinj^-street. 

Ennnaiis  Par,  in  Clirystie-street. 

New,  in  Amity-street. 

Congregation  of  Disciiilcs,  in  Laurens-street- 


CATHOI^IC. 

St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  in  Mott-street. 
St.  James,  in  James-street. 
St.  Mary's,  in  Grand-street. 
St.  Peter's,  Barclay-street. 
St.  Joseph's,  Sixth  Avenue. 
Transfiguration,  in  Chamber-street. 
German  Catholic,  in  Second-street. 


DUTCH  REFORMED. 

Sonth  Church,  in  Murray-street. 

Branch  of  South  Church,  in  University  ChapeL 

Middle,  in  Lil)Rrty-stre<;t. 

JN'orth,  in  William-street. 

Branch  of  North,  in  Ninth-street. 

North  West,  in  Franklin-street. 

North  East,  in  Market-street. 

Ninth,  in  King-street. 

Church  in  Broome-.street. 

Church  '11  Greene-street. 

Church  in  Bicccker-street. 

Seventii.  in  JIarlum. 

Mission  Church,  in  Houstoun-street. 

Young  Men's  Mis.siou,  in  Third-street 


219 


EPISCOPAL. 

AU  Saints'  Clmrcli,  in  Henry-street. 

Christ  Clnircli.  in  Anthony -street. 

Ascension,  in  Canal-street. 

Epiphany,  in  Stanton-street. 

Grace,  in  Broadway. 

ijt.  Clement's,  in  Aniity-strcet. 

De  St.  Esprit,  in  I'ranklin-street 

St.  Andrew's,  in  llmrlein. 

St.  liartholoniew's,  in  Lafayette  Place. 

St.  James',  in  Hamilton  Square. 

St.  (jHorgf's,  in  f'oekman-street. 

St.  Luli'is,  in  Hudson-street. 

St.  ."Mark's,  in  Stiiyvesant-street. 

St.  .Mary's,  in  Maiihattaiivillc. 

Sl  Matthew's,  in  Grand-street. 

St.  .Michael's,  in  Btoomiiigdalc. 

Nativity,  in  .Xvenne  IJ. 

St.  I'eter's,  in  Twentieth-street. 

St.  Slc[)hcii's,  in  Chrystie-street. 

St.  Thomas',  in  Uroadway. 

St.  Timothy's,  in  Housto'uu-street 

Trinity,  in  Broadway. 

St.  I'aiirs,  in  Broadway. 

St.  John'-,  in  \'arick-sirect. 

Zion,  in  M(itt-strc<!t. 

Free  .Mission,  in  Vandewater-street. 


CERM.IN. 

German  Christian,  in  Es.scxstreet. 
Germm  K<^t()rin<'d,  in  Forsvth-strnot. 
I'lrsl  (.Itristian  Chapel,  Broome-strect. 
Second    do         do      FourteeDth-straet. 


•220 


FRIEXDS. 


Meeting-Hoiise,  iu  Rose-street, 
do  Hester-street, 

do  Henry-street, 

do  Downiiiff-street. 


JEWS'    SYNAGOGUES, 

First  Shearitli  Israel,  in  Crosby-street. 
Second,  in  Elin-street. 
Third,  in  Centre-street. 


liUTHERAN    EVANGEIilCAIi. 

St.  James',  in  Oranse-stieet. 
St.  JIatthevv's,  in  Walker-street. 


METHODISTS. 

Mariner's  Chapel,  in  Rosevelt-street. 

Church,  in  Allen-street. 

do  Forsyth-street. 

do  AVlllett-street. 

do  Second-street. 

do  Seventh-street. 

do  Greene-street. 

do  Diiane-street. 

do  John-street. 

do  Bedford-street. 

do  Eighteenth-street. 

do  Vestry-street. 

do  Mulberry-streeL 


221 

Methodist  Society,  in  Chrystie-street. 

Associate  Protestant  Methodists,  in  Attorney-street. 

d,,  do  do  Sullivan-street. 

Primitive  Methodist,  in  Hoiistoun-street. 

do  do  Elizabeth-street. 


MORAVIAN. 

United  Brethren,  in  Fulton-street. 
New  Jerusalem  Chapel,  in  Pe;ul-strecU 


PRESBYTERIAN. 

Associate  Prcsl)ytori:m,  in  Grand-street. 

Second  Associate  Presbyterian,  in  Thompson-street. 

Ai<sociat(!  Reformed,  in  Pearl-street. 

Second  Associate  Ri;lbniied,  in  Prince-street. 

Brick  Meeting,  Be<diuian-strcet. 

First,  in  Wail-street. 

Third,  ill  Kutgers'-street. 

Scotch,  in  (jrand-street. 

Canal-street  Church. 

Diiaiie-.ftrect  Church. 

Miirniy-street  Church. 

L;iight-strcet  Church. 

Seventh,  ill  I'.rooine-strcct. 

Alleii-Htrect  Church. 

r.ighth,  ill  Christopher-street. 

Spring-street  Chiireji. 

Braiiienl.  in  |{ivington-strcet, 

Assi)ei;ite  I'leliinned,  in  Fraiiklin-.street. 

Bowery,  in  Bowery. 

(N-nlral,  in  nrooine-strect. 

Branch  of  Central,  in  Second  Avenne. 

Scotch  Rufoniicfl,  in  Waverly-Place. 

West,  in  Carmine-street. 


222 

Congregational,  in  Cliatham-street. 
ThoinpiJon-street  Church. 
Fourth  Free,  in  Madison-street. 
Seventh  Free,  in  Grand-street. 
Madison,  in  Madison-street. 
Eighth  Avenue,  in  Seventeenth-street 
Manhattan  Island,  in  Fourth-street. 
Sixth  Free,  (Tabernacle,)  in  Broadway- 
Village,  in  Jane-street. 
New,  in  Sixth  Aveuue. 
Bleecker-street  Church. 
Mercer-street  Church. 
Providence  Chapel,  Thompson-street. 


UNITARIAN. 

First  Church,  in  Chamber-street. 
Second  Church,  (new,)  Broadway. 


UNIVERSALIST. 

First  Church,  in  Orchard-street. 
Second  Church,  Bleecker-street. 


WELCH. 

Baptists,  in  Dominick-street. 
Presbyterians,  in  Broome-street. 
West  Baptist,  in  Duane-street. 

Congregation  Primitive  Christians,  in  Canal-street. 

Reformed  French  ChurcL 

[Total  150. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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